What order are the Richard Hatch books to be read?

[Lighthope]

I have never read the BG books by Richard Hatch. Am finally going to sit down and read them.

Just don't know what order they are supposed to be read in.

Any lists?

[Eric Paddon]

Armageddon (1997) by Christopher Golden and Richard Hatch
Warhawk (1998) by Christopher Golden and Richard Hatch
Resurrection (2001) by Richard Hatch and Stan Timmons
Rebellion (2002) by Richard Hatch and Alan Rodgers
Paradis (2003) by Richard Hatch and Brad Linaweaver
Destiny (2004) by Richard Hatch and Brad Linaweaver
Redemption (2005) by Richard Hatch and Brad Linaweaver

Be forewarned, that you will not find very good continuity with the series episodes in these novels, which is the reason they didn't impress me at the time they came out. And then internal continuity problem issues become evident after a bit too.

[Lighthope]

How are the books? Are they just fanwank? An homage to Hatch's ego? (I notice he killed off Adama so he could take over command.)

Or are they actually interesting to read?

[Eric Paddon]

I honestly got lost around the 2nd or 3rd book and I never really went through the rest. The most distant archives at this place may in fact have some harsh words at this board I wrote back in the early 2000s about how this series was going. The 1st book got things off on the wrong foot with me and a lot of other people because it was clear that Hatch's ghostwriter didn't sit down and watch the episodes and got a sense of the overall story arc that took place over the course of the season. Not only were characters messed up (Rigel is referred to as male and Omega as an old man), but key points that happened during the run like Baltar's imprisonment and release were forgotten or ignored. And at one point (I've forgotten whether this was in the 1st or 2nd book) Apollo meets Zac as a SOL being and when he asks him where Earth is, he gets the answer, "We don't know" which totally contradicts WOTG (this is a point even G80 remembered!). There was also an underlying subplot point about pure-blood Kobollians that I remember not sitting well and then after initially remembering (sort of) the fact that Apollo and Sheba were on the verge of a relationship suddenly by the next few books, Apollo and Cassiopeia (!) are an item! The whole tone of the stories just seemed like a group of strangers to me.

Ironically, I am going to be getting the first three novels myself because after all these years I do want to see if I can approach these differently in the post-GINO world. I would recommend reading for yourself and see if you can get past the fact that you will not see continuity with the episodes observed, which I admit is a big deal with me.

[Lighthope]

I would recommend reading for yourself and see if you can get past the fact that you will not see continuity with the episodes observed, which I admit is a big deal with me.

That would bug me actually. Surprisingly, one of my biggest pet peeves with nuGal was the fact that they got Pyramid and Triad mixed up. Petty to most non-fans (and anyone who liked nuGal but didn't like Classic is not a real fan), but that mistake told me very clearly that Ron Moore wasn't appreciative of Classic, but just saw BG as something to make money off of.

So the fact that Hatch's books get so many simple things wrong would put me off.

Now, some changes are interesting. The novel of Saga of a Star World had some changes. Boxey isn't Serena's kid. Jolly gets killed at Carrilon. I'm sure there are others, but those are the two things that I recall. I haven't read the book in many years.

So I am accepting of some retcon. But I don't know about the changes you mentioned.

[Lighthope]

Rigel is referred to as male

What, WHAT?! Sexy, beautiful Rigel is a dude?! Never!!!!!!

Her long, gorgeous hair! Her and Serena......... :D

[Eric Paddon]

I'm told Hatch got some blowback re: Rigel (amazing since he talked about having a crush on Sarah Rush!) and fixed that in subsequent novels.

The Saga novelization wasn't changes so much as the fact that they were going from an earlier draft of the script where Boxey was an orphan found by Serina and other things (the Cylons still being reptiles etc.)

Of course this is why fanfic authors typically know how to get it right. :)

[Lighthope]

I'm told Hatch got some blowback re: Rigel (amazing since he talked about having a crush on Sarah Rush!) and fixed that in subsequent novels.

Well, at least he fixed that.

The Saga novelization wasn't changes so much as the fact that they were going from an earlier draft of the script where Boxey was an orphan found by Serina and other things (the Cylons still being reptiles etc.)

Makes sense

Of course this is why fanfic authors typically know how to get it right. :)

Very true. Though they are the reason the word "fanwank" was invented. haha

As a bit of trivia, very soon after Battlestar Galactica, Sarah Rush appeared in the Christian movie Years of the Beast. She cut her hair, but not much. Still fairly long. haha

[ernie90125]

Armageddon (1997) by Christopher Golden and Richard Hatch
Warhawk (1998) by Christopher Golden and Richard Hatch
Resurrection (2001) by Richard Hatch and Stan Timmons
Rebellion (2002) by Richard Hatch and Alan Rodgers
Paradis (2003) by Richard Hatch and Brad Linaweaver
Destiny (2004) by Richard Hatch and Brad Linaweaver
Redemption (2005) by Richard Hatch and Brad Linaweaver

Be forewarned, that you will not find very good continuity with the series episodes in these novels, which is the reason they didn't impress me at the time they came out. And then internal continuity problem issues become evident after a bit too.

There was also to be a last novel, Discovery, but it wasn't published.

Richard wanted the novels to be re-published with extensive continuity and proof-reading corrections before re-publication.

The first novel, Armageddon, was the story of The Second Coming.

[Eric Paddon]

Wasn't aware of an unpublished novel. Not being familiar with the later ones, does that mean the whole series was in a cliffhanger mode at the end of the last published one?

[Lighthope]

I'm going to give the first novel a shot with the mindset to forgive the odd continuity error.

[JLHurley]

If memory serves, I think the novels even had Dr. Wilker as a physician or Dr. Salik as a tech scientist--or both. Some sort of slightly distracting mix-up...

[ernie90125]

I'm going to give the first novel a shot with the mindset to forgive the odd continuity error.

I think that's worth doing...to their credit, they are a continuation of what happened next and, as with the Dynamite comics, even if some people review the comics/books as having their faults...at least someone did something new...

[Lighthope]

If memory serves, I think the novels even had Dr. Wilker as a physician or Dr. Salik as a tech scientist--or both. Some sort of slightly distracting mix-up...

That one is passable. I get those two confused as well. :rotf:

[Jayworld]

Things were indeed mixed-up throughout the Richard Hatch novels, and at one time, I had them all (five of the personally signed, two of the five as gold editions), and overall, they were an entertaining read, especially in contrast to GINO, yet I found myself (which is unusual for me) not desiring to re-read any of the Hatch novels. I ended up selling my last five copies (all signed) on eBay recently; and at a great discount. Surprisingly not much interest in these a present, even as signed copies. BTW, you'll be hard-pressed to find new hardcover versions of Destiny and Redemption, as new copies are very expensive. You can get the first two very easy and relatively cheap. I believe Armageddon (and perhaps others) were re-released in softcover format.

[Eric Paddon]

BTW, you'll be hard-pressed to find new hardcover versions of Destiny and Redemption, as new copies are very expensive. You can get the first two very easy and relatively cheap. I believe Armageddon (and perhaps others) were re-released in softcover format.

I noticed those high prices for the latter ones. That's a testament I think more to how interest really had slackened off by the time they were coming out because those of us who'd given up on Richard's books had checked out sooner. I was able to find good hardback editions of the first three this past week but I doubt I'll be able to get further. Of late, having also reacquired a set of the original paperback novelizations, my blood is more "up" about wanting all these incarnations represented (probably owing to the fact that my fanfic output after ten years of dormancy has seen me do five stories in the last three months!).

[JLHurley]

That one is passable. I get those two confused as well. :rotf:

Blasphemy! You're sentenced to one year of daily BG viewings! Let that be a lesson to you! :salute:

[Lighthope]

Blasphemy! You're sentenced to one year of daily BG viewings! Let that be a lesson to you! :salute:

I don't really consider that a punishment.

Oh, you mean daily G1980 viewings? You FIEND!!!!

[Jayworld]

I noticed those high prices for the latter ones. That's a testament I think more to how interest really had slackened off by the time they were coming out because those of us who'd given up on Richard's books had checked out sooner. I was able to find good hardback editions of the first three this past week but I doubt I'll be able to get further. Of late, having also reacquired a set of the original paperback novelizations, my blood is more "up" about wanting all these incarnations represented (probably owing to the fact that my fanfic output after ten years of dormancy has seen me do five stories in the last three months!).

I think by the time that Destiny and Redemption were released, there was a larger release date gap between the novels (the first 2-3 were about a year apart or so) and also lesser numbers of the last two were issued. If you can find either, especially Redemption, in hardcover for under $50 in new or near-new condition, you MUST buy it. Probably won't find a better deal. Redemption generally sells for $90 and up on amazon when it is available. One thing that bothered me about Richard's series (and I know that this is just being picky) is that the series was not published by the same company, so the first two books are smaller in size compared to the rest of the novels and kind of looked weird all next to each other on the bookshelf.

The original series of paperbacks by Glen Larson (and second author) are generally much easier and cheaper to find. I found issues #4 - #8 at a local Half Price bookstore last year for $3 each. They pop up from time-to-time. The best ones to look for are books #12, 13, and 14, as they are original stories and not based upon adapted teleplays. They'll cost you more, though, too.

[Charybdis]

Wow, Richard's books are selling for that high a price? Good thing I bought all of them as they came out for regular copy price!!

[Jayworld]

Wow, Richard's books are selling for that high a price? Good thing I bought all of them as they came out for regular copy price!!

Yes, I did, too, but good luck on realizing anything close to that price when trying to sell (which is what I did this past year. I think I got close to $120 for the first five, and those were first editions, hard-back, and all signed by Richard (2 gold editions).

I thought it weird that Richard's gold editions were limited to 2,500 (or so, can't remember) but were nothing more than him using a special gold stamp in the front of the book at conventions and writing your number and signing the book in gold ink. The number never changed; i.e. if a person had number 1200 when they purchased a book, then that number was "assigned" to them and Richard would always use that number when signing future "gold" copies (limited to one per title) for the same person, if that makes sense? Because the price was much higher to get a gold copy, I only got two of them and then got the rest of my books signed the "normal" way for $10 - $20 each (depending on the show that Richard was at, it seemed). He used normal black Sharpie for the regular signatures.

[Eric Paddon]

I found copies of "Paradis" and "Destiny" in the $40 range which I decided to grab (that was the lowest) and I decided to get the *only* copy of "Redemption" that was available on Amazon and which I can pay in six monthly installments. I decided that at this stage it's important to have a copy of each of these books regardless of how I felt about them initially so that I can try to give them a new look even though I know I'll have issues with the lack of continuity they demonstrated and the fact there's a cliffhanger in the last novel (I'm used to that though, based on what happened with Max and Realm Press with their comics).

[Senmut]

Wow, Richard's books are selling for that high a price? Good thing I bought all of them as they came out for regular copy price!!

Nothing like dying to raise the profits from your work.

[Jayworld]

Nothing like dying to raise the profits from your work.

Understand the sentiment, as we see that from time-to-time when someone dies that their work increases in value, or their collectibles (think Tom Seaver baseball cards for a current example), but in this case, the latter books were pretty high priced before Richard Hatch passed away.

[Eric Paddon]

Yeah, no doubt due to scarcity of copies based on fewer printed. It's almost amazing he still got one final one out after that other entity started airing.

The $250 pricetag for "Redemption" was high, but every other copy I saw off-Amazon was going from $500 to $1000!

[Charybdis]

yeah, but was anyone actually buying the book for over $500?? Probably not. Hmmm, maybe I should sell off my entire collection for a fast buck! j/k :)

[Eric Paddon]

It's too bad none of those books are on Kindle and then the price would REALLY drop! (and I wouldn't need any of the physical copies). Likewise, it'd be nice if the old novelizations were on Kindle for convenience.

[Senmut]

yeah, but was anyone actually buying the book for over $500?? Probably not. Hmmm, maybe I should sell off my entire collection for a fast buck! j/k :)

That's "fast cubit". :D

[Gundark]

I've read the first three of Richard's books, and actually just received the fourth in the mail today (a signed copy, no less).

While there were certain elements of the first three that I enjoyed, there were two utterly opposite revelations near the end of Resurrection; one of which moved me to bittersweet tears and the other that had me squirming in utmost discomfort. I will not divulge either, for those who have not read the books, but I am embarking on the fourth tonight (Rebellion) with a great deal of trepidation. I also noticed, as well, the increasing price as the volumes went on. Ultimately, even though I don't care for some of the plot points, it was Richard's vision and I'm not going to trash that, not ever.

As far as the original novelizations, I had some of them from the great past, but they apparently grew legs at some point (likely in a previous move - and ain't that fun ?) and are gone. Like someone mentioned earlier, its a now a matter of snooping around used book shops.

[Senmut]

Of course this is why fanfic authors typically know how to get it right. :)


Yes, we do. ;)

[Gundark]

So while we're still on this subject, I would like to confess that clearly I am a complete idiot (not to offend any partial idiots out there), as I ordered two copies of Rebellion, one from Amazon and one from Ebay (according to my mailman).

I can only blame this on being so busy with real life work (that's lame I know), and that annoyingly wonderful ability to buy things at 2:12 AM, in bed, on my phone, with "add to cart" and "buy now". I predict that at some point this is the very technology that will take us down faster than Skynet.

Therefore, I would like to offer to anyone here, the second copy, sent to them free of charge, as opposed to sending it along to Used Book Hell, if someone is interested in reading them and would like a freebie ! Just because Gundy is really that nice of a fan boy gal, and obviously as humble as Drax.

Takers ?

[Gundark]

Oh boy.

So folks, I finished Rebellion since my last post. I cannot underestimate the non-religious blasphemy on page 108. Pure. Agony. Just so wrong in every way it can be. Completely unredeemed by the end but with a quirky turn of events that made it slightly more bearable, but not forgiven in any way.

Makes sense, yes ?

[Eric Paddon]

I have never read past the first couple Hatch novels (and that was decades ago though I have in recent years reassembled all of them) but I did get the sense in general that as he went further along he and his writing partners were getting more afield than ever from the series itself in terms of the characters (and I felt there were problems in the first novel). Someday I hope to go through them again with a more open mind but I know it'll require a lot of patience on my part.

[Gundark]

I managed to acquire Paradis in paperback form and that is my next one to read.

I could not agree more, Eric, that despite it being intended as the "continuation" of TOS, some of the plot plots (whether Richard's ideas or bad advice on the part of the various co-authors) were odd, although there were some things I liked. However a major loose thread, I felt, was the distinct lack of Adama. (Sorry if that presents as a spoiler to non-readers), and some canon was terribly askew.

[Eric Paddon]

The chief problem is I think Richard's ghostwriters broke what should be the first rule of writing Galactica, and that is you have to *watch* the episodes again before you write. You need to carefully immerse yourself in the specifics of the episodes because Galactica, while not serialized the way TV is today, was still a show of forward momentum where what happened in one episode did have ramifications for later episodes. That means you can't forget about things like Baltar being a prisoner at one point and getting released in "Hand Of God" and you also can't forget (as Hatch's novels did) that the Ship of Lights gave them the general course heading for Earth (even "Galactica 1980" remembered this point in "Return of Starbuck"!) I tended to think Richard and his writers were going from memory more often than not or from some quickie summary rather than taking time to watch and take notes before proceeding.

[Gundark]

I believe you summed it up perfectly !