My OSS Sequel Wish List

by Dylan Jeninga
(Chicago, Illinois, USA)

I, for one, can think of more than a few books that deserved sequels, and I present them in list fashion and in no particular order!

1. "Red Planet"

2. "War of the Worlds", especially in regards to the Martian invasion of Venus mentioned at the end of the book

3. "Valeddom"

4. ERB's Jupiter books

5. "Martian Blood" and "Frogheads" by Alan M. Steele. I'd love a novel set in his OSS.

6. "The Enchantress of Venus", there wasn't enough Leigh Brackett Venus. Similarly,

7. "Shannach: The Last". Mercury was sorely ignored by Brackett.

8. "The Courts of the Crimson Kings". This one especially hurts because a sequel was in the works, apparently.

9. "Space Cadet"

That's all that occurs to me from the home of my girlfriend's parents, where we are having a holiday visit. When I get back to Chicago, I will look over my collection and see if any other wishes come to me.

{Z: An excellent starting-point for discussion. Reading your list, Dylan, it strikes me that the candidates for sequels could be sorted into three classes.

First, the Sequel-Required - the ones which seem to be actually demanding sequels - the obvious examples being ERB's "Skeleton Men of Jupiter" and Stirling's "In the Courts of the Crimson Kings".

Second, the Sequel-Ticklers - the ones which finish on a note of mystery, such as "Red Planet", but a mystery which is part of the flavour of the story rather than an official come-on for a sequel. It still means we want to read more, but, in such cases, if (by some miracle) a sequel were to be discovered among the author's manuscripts, while jumping for joy we'd also at the same time probably find it a bit scary, wondering whether it might prove to be a let-down. For instance, the Martians in "Red Planet" are such a literary achievement, I find it hard to imagine that any sequel would do them justice - but then I may be reckoning without the genius of the author. Similarly with the thought of a sequel to "The Kraken Wakes", which was the example that got me going in the Diary - and which I'd definitely class as a "Tickler".

Somewhere between these two extremes I'd class "Valeddom" as a "Sequel-Inviter", a tale which could reasonably do with a sequel, because the ending indicates (in fact, virtually promises) that the adventure will resume. If it doesn't resume, at least we're not left hanging in the air like we are at the end of "Skeleton Men of Jupiter"; on the other hand, Gibson's Mercury awaits us somewhat restlessly, more so than the reasonably stable situation at the end of "Red Planet".}

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Dec 14, 2016
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re sequel to Valeddom
by: Robert Gibson

Been out of touch; just caught sight of your mention, Dylan, of Valeddom as a book for which a sequel would be welcome. I'm honoured by the opinion. I actually have had vague thoughts about a sequel, but there are huge problems to be sorted out. So huge, it's hard even to define them. I could make a start by saying: Valeddom is a small world, not roomy like Ooranye where it's easy to dream up a multitude of roaming adventures. But that's not directly the main difficulty. The big obstacle, connected indirectly with the size-issue, is a fear of somehow letting Mercury down. I sense that I kind of wrapped up the vision, so how do I break into it again without making a mess?
Having said that, I do intend to produce "Return to Valeddom" one day, but - to use an Obama phrase - I fear it will have to go to the back of the queue.

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