This date is reserved for a special show about the biggest Science Fiction series in the world. And yes, we are talking about Perry Rhodan, a German “Heftroman” series that has been continously running since its inception in 1961.

Many international editions came and went (with Japanese and French and a few other versions still being successfully published on a regular basis) and now with Perry Rhodan NEO, the folks from J-Novel Club are bringing back the Rhodan universe in English.

We will talk about past, present and future of Perry Rhodan (here is a Google translated summary of the main plot from the official website), the challenges to coordinate multiple authors writing on an epic story as complex as this one, how to translate the work without losing context, how to create a look for the various products that is contemporary, yet still keeps with the Rhodan tradition (is there such a thing? is there canon?), we will get inside into the mind-boggling logistics of a creative endeavor that has similar themes yet predates other popular entreprises such as Star Trek, Doctor Who and most certainly Star Wars (did George Lucas “steal” from Perry Rhodan when it was briefly published in America in the 70s by the amazing Forrest J. Ackerman.

Show starts as per usual at 12pm SLT. Now back to begging Linden Lab for an entire new island for a Perry Rhodan hangout spot. Maybe I can entice them with a pitch video like this one?

Meantime: visit the Book Club archipelago and watch past shows via the playlist below:

If you'd like to suggest an author, please email slbookclub@draxtor.com.