Author: Alan Dean Foster
First Published: 1979
Pages: 187pp
Publisher: New English Library
Not currently available in eBook format
Alan Dean Foster was busy between 1978 and 1980. Not only did he pen the adaptation of Disney's film, The Black Hole, but he was also responsible for adapting Star Trek Log Ten, Aliens and George Lucas's undeveloped treatment for a potential sequel to Star Wars, Splinter of the Mind's Eye. He was also probably considering novelisations of Clash of the Titans and Outland as well as working on titles in his Icerigger trilogy and Humanx series.
All of this work might be how Foster likes to occupy himself. Perhaps he thrived upon a busy schedule forcing him to deliver the goods. But similarly this might be the reason that his effort here is rather lacklustre? There is no denying that the source material for The Black Hole doesn't exactly set the world alight with its plot. I have not watched the film since finishing the book, to be frank- it put me off watching it completely. If Foster followed the script religiously (I don't think he did, at least in one particular key death scene his description is significantly different), then the pacing of his source material was seriously flawed from the outset. His only recourse would have been to inject new scenes to add some much needed tension and conflict. I don't think he did, whether due to indifference or lack of time, we'll never know.
The Black Hole was produced by the Walt Disney organisation. It had a long history in their archives - originally being conceived in the early seventies by writers Bob Barbash and Richard Landau as an answer to the current trend of disaster films like The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno. After a few failed attempts to develop the idea, Star Wars hit cinema screens across the world Disney scrambled around for a Sci-fi idea to produce in response to the demand for more space-bound adventures.
By now, the idea of a disaster movie had changed into a full-blown space epic that would try and emulate the exploits of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia. However, the story needed a lot of reworking and so numerous scriptwriters were brought in to revise and reshape the project. Eventually Disney settled on a story that combined the efforts of Jeb Rosebrook (screenwriter of Westerns including Junior Bonner) and Gerry Day (The High Chaparral, The Virginian, The Big Valley, Peyton Place, Dr. Kildare and Hawaii Five-O). The only problem with the story was that nobody could agree on a satisfying ending. This issue resulted in one of the most extraordinary endings to a film ever produced.
The plot of The Black Hole involves the discovery of a black hole, by the space exploration vessel Palamino. The small crew, consisting of journalist Harry Booth, Dr Alex Durant, Dr Kate MacCrae, Captain Dan Holland, Lieutenant Charles Pizer and their robot companion V.I.N.C.E.N.T., are returning to Earth when they are made aware of the phenomenom. On closer inspection, they find to their astonishment, the long lost starship, Cygnus. The old craft was a mammoth investment by earth to send out a large crew to find intelligent life. It seems to be hovering in a stable position on the edge of the influence of the black hole, devoid of life and unmanned.
As they approach, the Palamino is damaged and they spot signs of life in the ghost ship. Managing to dock successfully, they board the Cygnus and are immediately relieved of their weapons by mysterious machinery. It soon becomes evident that the Cygnus is not dead, but is now run by the sole survivor Dr Hans Reinhardt, who has created a crew made of robots, headed up by his major-domo robot, Maximillian. Durant and MacCrae are impressed by Reinhardt's accomplishments in the last 20 years. Booth, ever the doubting hack, tries to antagonise their host, while Holland and Pizer are wary and just want to repair their ship and get back to Earth.
The main problem with The Black Hole, is that it has a very long and very tedious lead-up to any sort of interesting action. I almost gave up on the book a couple of times it was so slow. Nothing slightly interesting happens until at least the 140-page mark (out of roughly 190 pages). Foster tries to inject some background into his story and characters. This works to some extent - there are explanations of certain facts that I know from memory are not covered in the film. But the result is so mundane, and it just lacks any sort of pace or menace, unlike Fosters novelisation of Alien. It's saying something that the most interesting character in the book is V.I.N.C.E.N.T.
It's clear in some ways that Foster did not see the final edit of the film. His ending does not contain details of the December 1979 release. It's much more esoteric than what you'll see on screen. Personally, I was left disappointed with Foster's ending. It felt like he (also) didn't have a clue as to how it should end satisfactorily and just drafted up a finale that could be covered as briefly as possible (however, to be fair, it does follow the logic of Kate McCrae's ESP talent). So, if you are a fan of the film, don't expect the book to answer any of the questions raised by the now infamous and bizarre ending.
Normally my intent in reading a novel absent from eBook sellers, is because I feel like it deserves to have a shot at being available to the public, rather than languishing on the dusty shelves of used booksellers. But in this case I was wrong - perhaps The Black Hole needs to disappear for good. Just like the doomed Cygnus into the eponymous black hole of the story...?
Publisher: New English Library
Not currently available in eBook format
Alan Dean Foster was busy between 1978 and 1980. Not only did he pen the adaptation of Disney's film, The Black Hole, but he was also responsible for adapting Star Trek Log Ten, Aliens and George Lucas's undeveloped treatment for a potential sequel to Star Wars, Splinter of the Mind's Eye. He was also probably considering novelisations of Clash of the Titans and Outland as well as working on titles in his Icerigger trilogy and Humanx series.
All of this work might be how Foster likes to occupy himself. Perhaps he thrived upon a busy schedule forcing him to deliver the goods. But similarly this might be the reason that his effort here is rather lacklustre? There is no denying that the source material for The Black Hole doesn't exactly set the world alight with its plot. I have not watched the film since finishing the book, to be frank- it put me off watching it completely. If Foster followed the script religiously (I don't think he did, at least in one particular key death scene his description is significantly different), then the pacing of his source material was seriously flawed from the outset. His only recourse would have been to inject new scenes to add some much needed tension and conflict. I don't think he did, whether due to indifference or lack of time, we'll never know.
The Black Hole was produced by the Walt Disney organisation. It had a long history in their archives - originally being conceived in the early seventies by writers Bob Barbash and Richard Landau as an answer to the current trend of disaster films like The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno. After a few failed attempts to develop the idea, Star Wars hit cinema screens across the world Disney scrambled around for a Sci-fi idea to produce in response to the demand for more space-bound adventures.
By now, the idea of a disaster movie had changed into a full-blown space epic that would try and emulate the exploits of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia. However, the story needed a lot of reworking and so numerous scriptwriters were brought in to revise and reshape the project. Eventually Disney settled on a story that combined the efforts of Jeb Rosebrook (screenwriter of Westerns including Junior Bonner) and Gerry Day (The High Chaparral, The Virginian, The Big Valley, Peyton Place, Dr. Kildare and Hawaii Five-O). The only problem with the story was that nobody could agree on a satisfying ending. This issue resulted in one of the most extraordinary endings to a film ever produced.
The plot of The Black Hole involves the discovery of a black hole, by the space exploration vessel Palamino. The small crew, consisting of journalist Harry Booth, Dr Alex Durant, Dr Kate MacCrae, Captain Dan Holland, Lieutenant Charles Pizer and their robot companion V.I.N.C.E.N.T., are returning to Earth when they are made aware of the phenomenom. On closer inspection, they find to their astonishment, the long lost starship, Cygnus. The old craft was a mammoth investment by earth to send out a large crew to find intelligent life. It seems to be hovering in a stable position on the edge of the influence of the black hole, devoid of life and unmanned.
As they approach, the Palamino is damaged and they spot signs of life in the ghost ship. Managing to dock successfully, they board the Cygnus and are immediately relieved of their weapons by mysterious machinery. It soon becomes evident that the Cygnus is not dead, but is now run by the sole survivor Dr Hans Reinhardt, who has created a crew made of robots, headed up by his major-domo robot, Maximillian. Durant and MacCrae are impressed by Reinhardt's accomplishments in the last 20 years. Booth, ever the doubting hack, tries to antagonise their host, while Holland and Pizer are wary and just want to repair their ship and get back to Earth.The main problem with The Black Hole, is that it has a very long and very tedious lead-up to any sort of interesting action. I almost gave up on the book a couple of times it was so slow. Nothing slightly interesting happens until at least the 140-page mark (out of roughly 190 pages). Foster tries to inject some background into his story and characters. This works to some extent - there are explanations of certain facts that I know from memory are not covered in the film. But the result is so mundane, and it just lacks any sort of pace or menace, unlike Fosters novelisation of Alien. It's saying something that the most interesting character in the book is V.I.N.C.E.N.T.
It's clear in some ways that Foster did not see the final edit of the film. His ending does not contain details of the December 1979 release. It's much more esoteric than what you'll see on screen. Personally, I was left disappointed with Foster's ending. It felt like he (also) didn't have a clue as to how it should end satisfactorily and just drafted up a finale that could be covered as briefly as possible (however, to be fair, it does follow the logic of Kate McCrae's ESP talent). So, if you are a fan of the film, don't expect the book to answer any of the questions raised by the now infamous and bizarre ending.
Normally my intent in reading a novel absent from eBook sellers, is because I feel like it deserves to have a shot at being available to the public, rather than languishing on the dusty shelves of used booksellers. But in this case I was wrong - perhaps The Black Hole needs to disappear for good. Just like the doomed Cygnus into the eponymous black hole of the story...?
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