Titan: Prologue & Part 1 – SPOILERS

[Ian Symes]

Welcome to the spoiler-laden discussion thread for Red Dwarf: Titan Prologue and Part 1: Walverlof.

This is a place for no-holds-barred, detailed, nitty-gritty opinions and theories on everything in the first part of the book. Please try and avoid referencing anything from beyond this part, so that people can visit each thread as they complete each section of the book. And if you haven’t yet read Part 1, get out of here immediately.

Your comments may be used in the DwarfCast Book Club at a future date, so if your point is related to a specific sub-chapter, do mark it clearly.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

 

 

Topic

[Ben Saunders]

RIP the Recent Forum Posts feature for the foreseeable future. My book hasn’t even been dispatched yet!

[Jonsmad]

I’m bloody loving this book. I love that there is new Red Dwarf. That’s great. Then it’s full length Rob Grant something we haven’t had since the mId 90s. And it’s a novel we equally havnt had that also for such a long time. A co author and an alt prequel all of that’s fascinating. The biggest wow is something of an answer to the question what would rob write now? What would it be like. That is a question we’ve now got a feel for. It’s also his last gift. 

Ultimately this book which I’m 95% through when writing this, has fascinated and thrilled me. More than I expected to be honest. I like it more than Strangerers and colony by a nose, both of which I like more Quanderhorn or any other solo work, so it’s the best solo Rob Grant since Backwards for me. 

Like a lot of modern movies like ghostbusters afterlife etc I feel a bit of fan service referencing and the prequel setting makes it feel modern. It’s very strange that some things get a mention from modern life put into this future setting that dwarf universes hadn’t before. Like a photon phone etc.  I will not get  bogged down though into any cannon continuity because of the “one universe to the side” being a catch all for me. 

I find the lister and Rimmer stuff very funny very joyous new character bickering. I love nearly all of it and “lavender tang” is already a catchphrase in my garden now. 

So he’s my first note for the dwarf cast book club. We get a new mech character who is clear a Kryten sub. But I also love the fact he differs with the concept just a little, especially in his fresh take on judging Rimmer and coming to similar conclusions. 

Admirable Chrichton a play and movie about a butler gave us – Kryten.  We have Downton Abbey to thank for Mr Carson the butler giving us Carzon. 

[Ian Symes]

Ah, I hadn’t made the Carson connection! Downton Xanadu.

[Jonathan Capps]

Proloog, surely?

[Jonsmad]

In my imagination I’ve cast a young 1988 robert as Carson, and made him more human like in the head department the way Gordon kenedy looked as hudzen

[Podey]

My mind kept defaulting to Robert’s voice for Carson but I was aiming for David Ross. 

[evilmorwen]

(And don’t forget Hudson is the Scottish butler in Upstairs Downstairs)

[Paul Muller]

I really liked that mention of Red Dwarf being towed into dock and its shadow plunging the city into darkness, one of many moments that would have worked terrifically onscreen. 

[Jonsmad]

Rimmer impersonating a Hologram after a Honda Collison – Fucking Hilarious. Love it.  

[Jonsmad]

Head Cannon: The rich descendants of Thickie Holden formed the basis of Titans early colonists who named the main settlement after their greatx ancestors favourite song.  

[Jonsmad]

Last observation from me this afternoon as I’m I’m hogging these threads while everyone’s reading or out working or nursing football defeat hangovers. Red Dwarf now encompasses Felicity Kendall’s Bottom and (chapter 23 – Cilia’s Arse) 

[clem]

Just a few of the thoughts I noted down as I was reading. 

Proloog

I suppose Red Dwarf was always bound to have flying cars in it one day. It was inspired by Blade Runner, after all.

Cutting out the tracker – a little bit of gore already. Good. 

Chapter 1

A good way to introduce characters old and new with these little vignettes. I love the Pez dispenser gag. 

Interesting that there’s an explanation of what skutters are for new readers. 

So Kochanski’s getting married, and there are two Listers? Is this Stasis Leak then?

Chapter 2

Very much wasn’t expecting Rimmer doing the extra long salute from BITR in this novel.

Chapter 3

I’m very much enjoying the dynamic between Petersen and Pear (or ‘Peach’ as page 36 would have it) but do Petersen and Lister not know each other?

Chapter 4

The Holly Buddy. ISWYDT

[clem]

Chapter 7

The descriptions of all the attractions in Uptown is great. Evocative and funny, just like the kind of world-building in the Grant Naylor novels. I want a live-action adaptation of this book with Danny John-Jules in a cameo as the rat version of Sammy Davis Jr.

Chapter 8.

“It was, in short, noisy.”  That’s one of my favourite bits so far. 

Chapter 9.

Ah, yes I thought Carzon’s master would turn out to be the big bad. 

Chapter 14

One of the art experts Petersen fights with is the Regis Professor of Lunar Art at ‘New Harvard’ on page 84, but ‘New Yale’ on page 85. That’s not a mistake is it.

[tombow]

I felt really stressed and annoyed at how the boys were keeping Curzon with them when he had to get back to his master. I found it really cruel.

[Ian Symes]

The Holly Buddy. ISWYDT

It took me an embarrassingly long time to SWTDT.

[Podey]

Is that Holly acronym new? I don’t recall if we’ve seen it before.

[Dave]

Is that Holly acronym new? I don’t recall if we’ve seen it before.

I believe so.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Is that Holly acronym new? I don’t recall if we’ve seen it before.

Yes. And it’s either really genius, or really stupid. I can’t quite decide.
Throughout Rob updates little ideas like this. Having HOLLY, a bit like HAL, be an acronym sort of makes sense in this version of reality.
Question is, what does HILLY stand for?? Or for that matter, Gordon?

In this reality Holly as a concept is brand new, and as a piece of AI seems to being slowly rolled out across the solar system, with budget versions available to boost sales. 

What does that say for other AI we know to exist?

This is one of many things that complements and contradicts what we’ve seen before that on one hand can be waved away by “one universe to the side” but on the other will be interesting to discuss ad nauseam and try and slot into lore

[Jonathan Capps]

What does that say for other AI we know to exist?

Carzon’s obsequiousness reminds me a lot of how LLMs go on about how brilliant you are for asking a basic question.

[clem]

I had to look up YABA, which is what the Y in Holly stands for. It’s ‘Yet Another Bloody Acronym’.

I’m intrigued by this really strange bit in Chapter 28 when Lister tries to let Frankenstein go, but she clearly doesn’t want to and so he just lets her stay in the backpack. 
Somehow – he didn’t know why – he sensed this was an auspicious moment. He straightened up. ‘Now,’ he announced to no-one in particular, ‘we are four.’

[tombow]

wasn’t this Frankenstein male?

[Dave]

I’m intrigued by this really strange bit in Chapter 28 when Lister tries to let Frankenstein go, but she clearly doesn’t want to and so he just lets her stay in the backpack. 
Somehow – he didn’t know why – he sensed this was an auspicious moment. He straightened up. ‘Now,’ he announced to no-one in particular, ‘we are four.’

Well, it’s the boys from the Dwarf being together for the first time (kind of), isn’t it?

[clem]

wasn’t this Frankenstein male?

If so, I’m pretty sure that detail isn’t revealed in Part 1 so it shouldn’t be in this thread!

Well, it’s the boys from the Dwarf being together for the first time (kind of), isn’t it?

I got that, I just wonder whether it’s merely a strange meta reference or if there’ll be some payoff later in the book to do with the whole realities merging thing, or whatever it is exactly that’s going on. 

I’ve started listening to the audiobook and the voice Chris is doing for Byle is hilarious.

[Author]

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