Alan Dean Foster (born November 18, 1946) is an American writer of fantasy and science fiction. He has written several book series, more than 20 standalone novels, and many novelizations of film scripts.
Foster was the ghostwriter of the original novelization of Star Wars, which was credited solely to George Lucas.[1] When asked if it was difficult for him to see Lucas get all the credit for Star Wars, Foster said, "Not at all. It was George's story idea. I was merely expanding upon it. Not having my name on the cover didn't bother me in the least. It would be akin to a contractor demanding to have his name on a Frank Lloyd Wright house."[2]
Foster also wrote the follow-up novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye (1978), written with the intention of being adapted as a low-budget sequel to Star Wars if the film was unsuccessful. However, Star Wars was a blockbusting success, and The Empire Strikes Back (1980) would be developed instead. Foster's story relied heavily on abandoned concepts that appeared in Lucas's early treatments for the first film.[3]
Foster wrote 10 books based on episodes of the animated Star Trek, the first six books each consisting of three linked novella-length episode adaptations, and the last four being expanded adaptations of single episodes that segued into original story. In the mid-seventies, he wrote original Star Trek stories for the Peter Pan-label Star Trek audio story records. He has the story credit for Star Trek: The Motion Picture,[5] as he wrote a treatment based on a two-page outline by Gene Roddenberry.
He later wrote the novelization of the 2009 film Star Trek, his first Star Trek novel in over 30 years,[6] and for Star Trek's sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness.[7]
Foster won the 2008 Grand Master award from the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers.[13]
Bibliographyedit
Humanx Commonwealth Universeedit
Pip and Flinxedit
Novels are listed in chronological order of the story (not chronological order of publication). Foster comments, in a foreword to a re-issued edition of Bloodhype, that it is the eleventh novel in the series, and should fall between Running from the Deity and Trouble Magnet.[14]
"Serenade" (2004), a novelette set immediately after The Time of the Transference,[17] was first published in the anthology Masters of Fantasy and was later reprinted in Foster's short story collection Exceptions to Reality.[18]
^This pen name was used for the first publication of many of the Montezuma Strip stories.
Referencesedit
^Wenz, John (January 1, 2018). "The First Star Wars sequel: Inside the writing of Splinter of the Mind's Eye". Syfy. SyFy Channel. Archived from the original on September 30, 2018. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
^Bently, Lionel; Biron, Laura (2014). "The author strikes back: Mutating authorship in the expanded universe". Law and Creativity in the Age of the Entertainment Franchise. Cambridge University Press. p. 44. ISBN 978-1-107-03989-6.
^"Kaiburr crystal". StarWars.com. Archived from the original on September 13, 2011. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
^Osborn, Alex (April 18, 2015). "Star Wars Celebration: Alan Dean Foster Writing The Force Awakens Novelization". Archived from the original on November 22, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
^Gross, Edward; Altman, Mark A. (June 28, 2016). The Fifty-Year Mission: The Complete, Uncensored, Unauthorized Oral History of Star Trek: The First 25 Years. St. Martin's Press. pp. 372–374. ISBN 978-1-4668-7285-1. Archived from the original on July 25, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
^"Alan Dean Foster Writing Star Trek Movie Adaptation". Archived from the original on February 15, 2009. Retrieved February 12, 2009.
^"Gallery To Release Star Trek Into Darkness Novel". Archived from the original on June 18, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
^Flood, Allison. "Star Wars author appeals to Disney in fight over royalties". The Guardian. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
^"Star Wars Novelist Says Disney Won't Pay Him Royalties it Owes Him". The Verge. Vox Media. November 19, 2020. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
^Ayers, Jeff (2006). Voyages of Imagination: The Star Trek Fiction Companion. Pocket Books. p. 65. ISBN 1-4165-0349-8. Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
^Osborn, Alex (April 18, 2015). "Star Wars Celebration: Alan Dean Foster Writing The Force Awakens Novelization". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
^Athans, Philip (September 20, 2011). "The Fantasy Author's Handbook Interview XVI: Alan Dean Foster". Fantasy Author's Handbook. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
Further readingedit
Duignan-Cabrera, Anthony (July 1996). "The InQuest Q&A: Alan Dean Foster". InQuest. No. 15. pp. 54–57.
External linksedit
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