Greetings, gentle reader. Welcome to the second installment in my Array Wars trilogy.
As with Array Wars Episode 1.0: The New Hope Strikes Back, this novel borrows from a wide range of sources. Apart from the obvious three—Star Wars, The Matrix, and Star Trek—I shall not bother, this time, to list those other works of fiction from which I have so shamelessly borrowed. Playing 'spot that reference' is half the fun!
Of course, this story would not exist without the work of George Lucas, the Wachowski Brothers, and Gene Roddenberry. Without the universes they created -- and that so many other people worked to flesh out—I would have nothing to parody. (I might even be forced to think up my own stories!) My novel is, of course, intended as a parody of said works, and of the characters and situations created and owned by Lucas and Wachowski and Roddenberry. It is certainly not intended for any commercial use, nor is it intended to in anyway disparage said works (of which I am a great fan; I quickly found that the only way to write a story such as this is by having intimate knowledge of the stories it is based upon; the sort of knowledge that only comes from watching them a dozen times over...) In short: please don't sue me, guys.
Any resemblance between any characters in this story and any people, living or otherwise, is purely unintentional—including, of course, those few cameo roles which I have inflicted upon certain of my friends; you know who you are! Needless to say, such cameos should not be taken too seriously; they are in name only (more or less), and no aspersions should be drawn between the people featured and the characteristics their namesakes might happen to bear herein. In short: please don't sue me, guys. (Besides, I've still got to write Episode 3.0 yet...)
I would like to extend my additional thanks to Chris Baty and the people who make NaNoWriMo work every year. If not for them and their crazy, wonderful idea, this novel would never have been written: this is, of course, my effort for NaNoWriMo 2006!
I would also like to thank all of my friends who put up with my wild enthusiasm for this crazy, wonderful project, and who nagged me when I fell behind, and who cheered me on when I was doing well, and urged me on (and threatened me with grievous bodily harm) on those occasions when it seemed like I might not finish. Thanks, guys and gals. This novel was, for some reason, a lot harder to write than the first; if you all hadn't stood behind me, I might never have gotten it finished. As Matthew Reilly once said in the foreword of one of his novels:
'To anyone who knows a writer, never underestimate the power of your encouragement.'
That is so true!
Then there's Boadicea. In the introduction to my first novel, I said I owed her a T-shirt. Well, she got her shirt, just in time to make it onto the cover of the book. This time around, when I decided that she would need to be on the cover of both this book and the next—Array Wars Episode 3.0: Attack of the Stiff—I decided to get her some new apparel. Of course, I went back to Julie Keightley of HotGraphix, who had made the original shirt, and she came through for me again. Thanks, Julie!
If you've read Episode 1.0, you'll have a good idea of what to expect from this novel. It has all that, and more! This novel is a lot darker than my first. It also has more adult language and situations than the first—or as the classification boards would say: 'Violence, Sexuality, Torture, and Drug Use'! Oh my! This was the dark path that my story wanted—needed—to follow.
Don't worry, though, there's nothing too explicit! After all, I'm still hoping my mother will be able to read and enjoy it!
Additionally, my story may well contain certain plot spoilers for Star Wars and The Matrix. If you have somehow managed to miss seeing these movies (and their sequels) I really do recommend that you watch them before you read this story. (Besides which, if you know them you will likely get more out of this...)
Enjoy!