2024 - 08/2024 Meeting

Page Created:  08/15/24.  Last Updated:  09/04/24.

JACK CAMPBELL (John G Henry)

WEBSITE:  https://jack-campbell.com/

SOCIAL MEDIA

.....FaceBook:  Fans of the Lost Fleet Series:

.....https://www.facebook.com/groups/172583651591/

BOOKS

As John G Henry

.....Starks War (3 Books)

.....Paul Sinclair JAG in Space (4 Books)

As Jack Campbell

.....The Lost Fleet (6 Books)

.....The Lost Fleet - Beyond the Frontier (5 Books)

.....The Lost Stars (4 Books)

.....The Lost Fleet - Outlands (4 Books)

.....The Genesis Fleet (3 Books)

.....The Lost Fleet - Comics / Graphic Novels (5 Issues)

.....Rendezvoux with Corsair (Lost Fleet Story Collection)

.....The Doomed Earth (2 Books)

.....Pillars of Reality (6 Books)

.....Pillars of Reality - Legacy of Dragons (3 Books)

.....Empress of the Endless Sea (3 Books)

.....The Sister Paradox

.....Lady Be Good (short story collection)

Meeting Date:  August 10, 2024.

Meeting Site: Zoom Video Conference.

Attendance: 31.

Meeting Program:  Talk / Q & A w/Science Fiction / Fantasy Writer.

Notes:

The post-meeting Virtual Diner Run was attended by 6 people.  Topics discussed included Back to the Future-The Musical, And Juliet (Broadway Play), the Olympics, the SCA and Knighthood, To the Glass Ceiling to the Stars by Eileen Collins & Jonathan Ward, the Space Force.

Newsletter Account:

The following account is reprinted with permission  THE STARSHIP EXPRESS  Copyright 2024 Philip J De Parto:

The monthly SFABC General Meeting was held on Saturday, August 10, 2024 via zoom video conference.  Science fiction writer Jack Campbell (aka John G Henry) was our speaker.  Mr Campbell has written nearly 50 books, as well as a handful of comic books adapting his novels, and a smattering of shorter works.

Mr Campbell grew up as a military brat  enlisted in the U S Navy where he served in a variety of positions over a 20 year career.  He recommended Russell G Davis' 1970 World War 2 memoir, MARINE AT WAR, to anyone interested in understanding the mindset of a military man in a combat situation.

Our speaker became the care giver of the family's three children (aged 5, 4. and 3 at the time, two are autistic) when he mustered out so that his wife could continue to work.  He had sold short stories to ANALOG and other markets while in the Navy, but retirement afforded him the opportunity to work on novels.

His first two series were written as by John G Henry.  The Paul Sinclair books draw from his experiences in the military's legal services and is shorthanded as JAG in Space.  The Ethan Starks trilogy draws on his time at the Pentagon and at his disgust at the selfish careerism of many officials.  ("CATCH 22 is not a satire, it's a documentary.")  The books weren't duds, but they hardly set the world on fire.

He rebranded himself as Jack Campbell and started an new series, The Lost Fleet, which became his breakout work.  The initial series wrestled with the problem, is it possible to do a Long Retreat in space?  How would logistics and light speed communications operate in such a scenario?

The protagonist of the first series (there are prequel, sequel, and parallel series set in this universe) is Black Jack Geary, a ship's Captain who was killed fighting a rear guard action to cover the retreat of his Alliance Fleet comrads from their Syndicate Fleet foes.  Needing inspirational heroes, Alliance propagandaists seized on his sacrifice and deified him into the perfect soldier.  It is quite an embarrassment to the myth-makers that the Great Man was only sleeping in a defective escape pod and that he has his own ideas about how this 100 year war should be run.

Things that make this different from all the other military science fiction series include some well-thought-out aliens, conflicts between the political and military authorities, a positive portrayal of religion (a form of ancestor-worship, which might somewhat explain the popularity of the series in Japan), the importance of logistics, and how the vastness of space affects tactics and communications.

Mr Campbell is a pantser, not a plotter.  He was surprised when Captain Djani became Black Jack's romantic interest.  That was not supposed to happen.  Edgar Rice Burroughs' THE MASTERMIND OF MARS was the author's gateway drug into science fiction.  Other early influences included Leigh Brackett, Robert Heinlein, and Andre Norton.  He did not see his first episode of STAR TREK until he was stationed on Midway Island where the Saturday matinee consisted of two episodes of television series.  Additional notes can be found at the club website at 2024 - 08/2024 Meeting.

Meeting Notes:

First say Star Trek when stationed on Midway.  The Saturday matinee consisted of two episodes of television series back-to-back.

Short story sales to Analog, MZB.

Ability to write short stories dried up when his brother was diagnosed with cancer.

Anne Sowards (Penguin/Ace) is editor.

Joshua Bilmes is literary agent.

Fastest book took 2.5 months to write 90 K.

The military can be slow to react to technological / political changes.

Sailors are superstitious.  Black hole system in Lost Fleet.

Likes to plant Easter Eggs in his writing.

PILLARS OF REALITY

Labor of love.  First attempt at sf.  Took 12 books to learn enough to be able to make it work.

DAUGHTER OF DARKNESS

Daughter of Pillars characters said, tell my story.  What's it like to be the daughter of The Chosen One.

DRAGON SERIES

Two cultures who see the world & interact with it differently:  Technology engineers and Mages who see the world as an illusion.

THE LOST FLEET

The Sleeping Hero theme.

Like a Roman General waking up in the Middle Ages.

Learned about ancestor worship through anime, etc.

Wanted to avoid oversimplified religion.

THE LOST FLEET - BEYOND THE FRONTIER

Aliens are too often effectively humans.

People can be doing things which make no sense to you, but perfect sense to them.

Bear-cows are cute, but they are herd animals who view any omnivore / predator as implacable foe.

THE LOST STARS

Names & some characteristics are taken from Arthurian legend.

DEMON HUNT

Work in progress - Alien / Aliens done smart.

IN OUR STARS

Sister of protagonist has some alien DNA.

I'm a doctor, not a cosmeticist.

THE SISTER PARADOX

YA.  Scene popped into his head.  The sister of an only child shows up with a sword in her hand.

LADY BE GOOD

His best short story.  Narrator gender is not stated.  Could be read as male or female.