Books question

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

*raises hand*

Okay, another question about the novels, specifically the last two. I was reading the IMDB message board for RD and there was a thread on the books - the commenter said "The Last Human" is NOT a sequel to "Backwards," but instead, that each book is that particular writer's sequel to their last joint novel, "Better Than Life."

I post this here for two reasons. One, you guys are the best bunch of discussers (and the only ones I'm familiar with so far) of Red Dwarf, generally. Second, there's an element of possible slashiness here, I suppose. TLH ends with Lister and Kochanski getting busy recreating the human race, Rimmer dead and his son still alive (and somewhere out there, I sure hope somebody's written an OT3 - not a triangle - with Lister/Kochanski/McGruder just on principle *G*). "Backwards" ends with teenage Lister and the Cat escaping a universe where Kryten and Rimmer have been killed, into an alternate dimension where Lister and the Cat had died. (No Kochanski in sight; that was handled at the beginning of the novel.)

Is this true, that each is just a sequel to BTL? Have you ever heard this - is it common knowledge and I'm just the ignoramus? Or is it untrue?

Oh, and if they're each a BTL sequel, I suppose the question becomes, what does this say for each writer's vision of the R/L relationship? Just to keep it more on-topic.

Comments

[slinkhard.livejournal.com]

Heh, right back atcha!
Yeah, that was slashier than the show, and the show was pretty sweet with 'He's my best mate, isn't he?' (Not to mention the accuracy of that, paralleled with how he knows he can't play guitar.)

ROFL, and Kochanski has her 'haughty demeanour and officerial posture'. Remind you of anyone?

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

Heh. To be fair, Doug did start early with the whole replacement business, in Balance of Power. No wonder Lister wasn't particularly upset by them nearly sleeping together in Cassandra; maybe he just saw it as advanced masturbation of a sort. ;-)

[slinkhard.livejournal.com]

I love Balance of Power. Possibly my favourite S1 episode. 'It's Kochanski's body, Kochanski's voice, I mean, what's the difference - come on!'

ROFL, the Cassandra plot is hilarious in retrospect. Poor Cassandra's all 'Hmm, I'll get Lister to kill Rimmer' (dead Rimmer + Murderer!Lister apparently being Lister's punishment) 'Which obviously, he'll do, being driven mad with jealousy!' When actually he just seems amused, even approving. I guess Rimmer and Kochanski getting it on is just step 1 in his masterplan for the ultimate threeway.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

Though, you gotta feel sorry for Kochanski in that one; I don't think she's as on-board with it as they are. When Lister says he's not going to shoot Rimmer, she goes, "Aww, but she promised!" *G*

[slinkhard.livejournal.com]

ROFL, well, it's always inexplicable how Kochanski can tolerate either of them, especially the rebooted version. Especially in S8, Lister's not the last man in the universe anymore, the one thing that tied them together. She'd probably agree, then leg it! (And get Kryten to tape them in case of future misbehaviour. ;)

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

Well, we know KK chose both ways, in a sense, in Last Human, don't we? :-)