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Post by jeremy355 on Aug 21, 2011 15:26:57 GMT -8
I am reading the first of the three Wild Wild West novels that came out in 1998. So far the first one is pretty good. I was wondering if the other two were worth tracking down?
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Dieter
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Post by Dieter on Aug 21, 2011 17:40:44 GMT -8
You might as well--If you buy one, you should buy them all. haha. I did--I just never read them yet.  |
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Post by California gal on Aug 21, 2011 17:50:52 GMT -8
I've got all of them... and haven't read them all either.  They are collector's items as far as I'm concerned. |
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Dieter
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Post by Dieter on Aug 21, 2011 18:21:55 GMT -8
Yeah---That's the main reason I wanted them in the first place, just for my WWW collection. Same deal with getting all the comic books and fanzines too.
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Aug 21, 2011 18:23:47 GMT -8
The author is a well known in the Western genre, and the books, while not necessarily living up to 'canon' are as good as any fanfic that I've read. I have read all three, but re-reading is harder. The one about the train ride is long and boring, IMO, but the other two aren't bad. I think I should say that they were as good as any bad fanfic I've read  Qohart and Cal Gal and others have written better WWW stories. |
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Post by snish on Aug 22, 2011 4:12:48 GMT -8
I read the first one, gagged, and didn't seek out any more of them. It seemed like the author had the characters reversed. If I remember right, Artie was riding around waving a gun while Jim did clever things with gadgets. It wasn't badly written, but it just didn't evoke the series for me.
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Aug 22, 2011 8:51:19 GMT -8
I didn't know they were collector's items  I just bought the 3 books about a few months ago, and didn't pay much for them and they are in very good condition. The stories were alright, but the fanfic stories that I have read here, are much better, and imaginative. So now I'm glad I bought those books. ;D They can be hard to come by, but I don't know if I would consider them collector's items. I found them all by accident one day in Half Price Books and paid 10.50 for them all. When I had searched them out online they were asking 14 bucks a piece! |
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Post by MissRedhead on Aug 22, 2011 11:44:30 GMT -8
My dad got me one of the novels but I couldn't finish it... I don't even know which one he got me... I just know the fanfic is LOADS more entertaining!!  |
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Dieter
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Post by Dieter on Aug 22, 2011 12:48:38 GMT -8
I see them sell for as cheap as 2 bucks on ebay and Amazon. They're not real "collectors items." Just cool to have for being WWW-related and pics of Jim & Artie on them. Like I said--I never even started reading them--just kinda flipped through a little.
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Post by w3mom on Aug 22, 2011 12:55:33 GMT -8
I have them all, and I read them all, too. (So did my two oldest kids...)
I would agree with the reviews that say they aren't quite cannon. They are ok reads - the first one is the best of the three, and I liked the third one least.
If you can get them cheap off of Amazon or something, then its kind of worth it. Most of the fanfic that I have read is much better, though.
Just my five cents... (inflation, you know)
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Post by California gal on Aug 22, 2011 13:31:33 GMT -8
They're only collector's items in the sense that if one is collecting as much Wild Wild West stuff as possible. I have all the comic books too. But I have not yet gotten into the cards.
i actually have 4 books: 3 by Robert Vaughan and 1 by Richard Wormser.
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Aug 22, 2011 14:38:37 GMT -8
I have the Wormser too. It was entertaining because it was written in the 60's, had Tennyson in it, and probably was what they thought they were shooting for on the series. I can see glimpses of what newspaper articles were talking about with Artemus...and the Dandiest Dude in the West |
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Dieter
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Post by Dieter on Aug 22, 2011 14:41:10 GMT -8
I haven't read the Wormser book yet either but I believe it was basically Double-Edged Knife in book form.
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Post by California gal on Aug 22, 2011 14:56:38 GMT -8
I suspect that all the books were contracted for when the series was still in its inception, and they probably gave the authors the outline they had. Wormser refers to Artie as a scalawag, a former Confederate! Now he might be a scalawag of sorts, but he was not in the Confederate Army! (Unless undercover as a spy.)
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Aug 22, 2011 19:24:48 GMT -8
Yeah, confederate wouldn't have worked well IMO. I don't really remember him being referred to as a confederate, and I've read it more than once.
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Post by California gal on Aug 23, 2011 6:12:53 GMT -8
Maybe I've got the wrong book, or the wrong wording. It's been a while since i looked at the books. When I have time I'll check again. But I'm pretty sure at least one of them referred to Artie as a southerner.
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Aug 23, 2011 6:59:24 GMT -8
I didn't mean to sound as though I was doubting you, I'm doubting my memory! Sorry about that, Cal Gal!
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Post by California gal on Aug 23, 2011 14:52:45 GMT -8
No offense taken, Apple. As i said, it's been a long time. I thought it was in the Wormser book that, as Dieter said, is just an expansion of TNOT Double Edged Knife but I'm not 100% certain. It's in a cupboard nearby so when I have time to sit down and look through it, I will.
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Post by w3mom on Aug 23, 2011 17:49:51 GMT -8
I didn't know that there was another one.
On another tack- there were a bunch of Star Trek books (by James Blish) written from what looked like incomplete or original (pre-production) scripts. If this book (and I wish I had a copy) looks like it is from a script, then it might be like one of the Blish compilations.
Anyway, I searched high and low for more WWW stories. That's how I wound up here.
Wish I could write 'em too, but I have to settle for reading.
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Aug 23, 2011 18:27:01 GMT -8
Robert Vaughan is the author of the newer WWW novels.
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Post by Paradox Eyes on Aug 24, 2011 1:48:43 GMT -8
I have the three Vaughn books too. Never read them. To tell ya the truth, they look...well...not very interesting. But I had to have them for my collection. Didn't know about the 4th one either. Will have to keep an eye out for it.
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Aug 24, 2011 7:13:50 GMT -8
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Post by Elsordo on Aug 24, 2011 7:41:02 GMT -8
Robert Vaughan is the author of the newer WWW novels. Wasn't he Napoleon Solo in the Man From UNCLE?  the best part of the 3 Wild Wild West novels is the covers. read the 1st one and it's completely gone from my memory. |
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Aug 24, 2011 8:47:26 GMT -8
I thought he was Solo, but apparently he spells his last name without the second 'a'. ;D
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Silver
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Post by Silver on Aug 24, 2011 8:59:48 GMT -8
No, it's the same guy.
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Dieter
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Post by Dieter on Aug 24, 2011 9:55:22 GMT -8
Haha---If it was the same Robert Vaughan, wouldn't he only have written a bunch of "Man from Uncle" books?? What does he know about Jim & Artie???  |
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Post by Elsordo on Aug 24, 2011 10:04:33 GMT -8
yeah, I was just kiddin'
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Aug 24, 2011 11:54:59 GMT -8
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Silver
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Post by Silver on Aug 24, 2011 12:20:05 GMT -8
Shows how lousy my membery is. I could have sworn that I read somewhere an story about the actor writing the books because he was once an English major and really loved the show. I remember being astonished that it was him. Obviously I must have dreamed the whole thing! |
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Qohart and Cal Gal and others have written better WWW stories.
I just bought the 3 books about a few months ago, and didn't pay much for them and they are in very good condition. The stories were alright, but the fanfic stories that I have read here, are much better, and imaginative. So now I'm glad I bought those books. ;D
