It’s been a mega 45 years since the original broadcast of the first season’s final episode of the classic sci-fi series Blake’s 7, and to celebrate, audio production company Big Finish Productions will publish a stunning limited set of Blake’s 7 hardback novelisations called Blake’s 7: Origins and we have an exclusive excerpt!
Blake’s 7 debuted on BBC television in 1978 and followed the exploits of Roj Blake and his gang of rebels in their battle against the sinister Federation. Now, for the first time, the complete first season of Terry Nation’s classic sci-fi adventure series will be published as a collection of brand-new hardback novelisations from a variety of authors, featuring lavish photos and artwork, and released as a single hardback box set limited to just 1,500 copies.
Each adaptation comprises two stories from the TV series and has been written by a well-known sci-fi author, including Una McCormack and Paul Cornell.
“Unlike conventional novelisations, which tend to be written before a TV show or movie has been completed, these are all informed by the available reference materials, 45 years of the show, and the inventiveness of our authors,” says Peter Anghelides, producer and commissioning editor. “Where appropriate, we’ve stayed faithful to the original series.
“The Nation Estate very helpfully allowed us to see original drafts written by Terry, some hand annotated, to reference as the origins of the TV show. Along with BBC filming, camera, and rehearsal scripts, those early drafts have informed these brand-new novels for all thirteen episodes of that first season. And with Redemption as the conclusion of Terry Nation’s original fourteen-story run, it’s the first time that any of the second season has been novelised!”
The stories in the new novelisations include:
- The Way Back/Space Fall by Paul Cornell
- Cygnus Alpha/Time Squad by Marc Platt
- The Web/Seek-Locate-Destroy by Gary Russell
- Mission to Destiny/Duel by Jacqueline Rayner
- Project Avalon/Breakdown by Steve Cole
- Bounty/Deliverance by Una McCormack
- Orac/Redemption by James Goss
Ahead of the release, we have a very special exclusive sample from Blake’s 7: Origins right here for SciFiNow readers. Please enjoy Chapter One of The Way Back/Space Fall by Paul Cornell right here.
“Our wonderful writers bring their talent, imagination and wit to these new novelisations,” Anghelides continues. “Each of them already has an impressive track record as a novelist, not to mention a wide range of other writing in prose and other media. And they are all big fans of the series — our very own ‘Blake’s 7’ for this unique collection.”
Blake’s 7: Origins will be released on 27 March. Pre-order yours here.