Press Release: “Berserker” Available 11/14
by Doc on Nov.12, 2005, under General News
Steve Jordan writes “”Berserker,” the next novel from Steve Jordan, will be released on November 14th on his site, www.SteveJordanBooks.com. From the book description:
“Carolyn Kestral, discharged Galarchy Ranger, begins her new life as a freighter captain and collects a small crew. But there is a question of whether the Berserker virus that forced her Ranger discharge is still capable of being activated and turning her into a deadly human weapon. If it is merely dormant, will it be set off by a clandestine first run and a dangerous run-in with the Spiders in deep space? Will her crew stick around long enough to find out?”
Following the successful and critically lauded release of “Robin,” Steve Jordan is continuing to offer his books according to the Right Brane e-Book model, selling at a low price and without Digital Rights Management (DRM) limitations, to demonstrate his trust in the market and his customers. For more information, or to purchase a Steve Jordan novel, go to www.SteveJordanBooks.com.”
November 13th, 2005 on 1:52 pm
Fred Saberhagen
Any thoughts on how Fred Saberhagen feels about this name-duplication of his famous series?
November 13th, 2005 on 3:56 pm
Re:Fred Saberhagen
From the author: Oops.
I admit I do not recall ever seeing one of F.S.’s “Berserker” books, and I didn’t know there was a “Berserker” series, so my use of the word was in no way meant to take advantage. Also, based on the description of his series, his stories and mine share no other similarity. My stories are based around the voyages of Captain Carolyn Kestral, an original set of characters and settings.
The word “Berserker” has been used in many sources, and not all directly related to F.S.’s writings or concept, so I assumed it was a publicly-available word to use. I’ve only just discovered F.S. has the title trademarked (thanks for alerting me to that, Chad), although I assume he has it trademarked as a title only, since he did not invent the word. But I am not aware of any legal actions taken against other users of the word, including Paramount Pictures (which has used the word in various “Star Trek” books) or Marvel Comics (whose immensely popular character Wolverine is commonly referred to as having a “Berserker rage”). I believe that these facts should make it reasonably acceptable for me to use the word Berserker for my title, though I admit the use of it by 2 SF writers is awkward.
My novel is titled “Berserker,” but that is the title of the one novel, not the designation of a series. If it is required to avoid confusion (or lawsuit!), my title can certainly be changed to “The Kestral Voyages: Berserker,” or something along those lines, to make it clear that it is not part of the “Berser” series. I suppose I’ll leave that up to F.S. and his publishers or lawyers to take up with me.
November 14th, 2005 on 12:09 am
Re:Fred Saberhagen
Seriously funny, considering that the Fred Saberhagen Berserker books are arguably one of the most well known sci fi series ever published.
We are talking like 12 or more books with Berserker in the title, the Saberhagen homepage is located at http://www.berserker.com . Including a multiplicity of short stories, including one titled just ‘Berserker’. Do I believe you did it to take advantage, no, is it awkward for 2 authors to use the same title, yes. Is it really clumsy and stupid on your part, and would publishing through a reputable house have prevented this, likely, even something as simple as a google search for your title would have prevented this.