By the Community, for the Community: the fulfilment of a dreamSpace-trading game Elite: Dangerous was 30 years in the making, and since launching the testing phases of the game earlier in the year the Elite community has been showered with accolades from the Best of E3 award in Los Angeles to an OBE for the game’s creator, David Braben. Elite: Tales from the Frontier, was the brain child of Chris Booker, one that he wasn’t sure he would ever see come to fruition. ‘Writing official fiction was an opportunity not to be missed,’ he says. ‘But was the idea over-ambitious for a run of the mill computer Jedi?’ Not if the critics are to be believed. The collection is part of Fantastic Books Publishing’s Fantastic Elite Fiction project and is already being called a collection of, ‘breath-taking space adventures...’ Where did the idea for Elite: Tales from the Frontier have its origins? ‘A long time ago,’ says Chris. ‘I was seven years old when I first saw Elite on my dad’s Spectrum 48k. It captured my imagination and by the time of the sequel in 1993 I was already documenting my space adventures in an exercise book that I should probably have been using for schoolwork.’ Like many who were captivated by the realism of the Elite universe, web developer Chris had often imagined the Elite galaxy transformed by today’s computing power allied to modern game design and development techniques. For Chris, other space simulators never quite matched what Elite had done. ‘Elite was never about being some central part of a major storyline,’ he says. ‘It was about being a tiny part of a vast, working galaxy that would carry on regardless of your actions within it.’ It was always clear to Chris that if anyone was going to recapture that experience, it would be the original Elite team. And earlier this year they did just that. And while the Elite team at Frontier Developments crafted the new game, Chris spent 18 months not only writing his own story, Crossing the Line, but organising his authors and artists, determined they would write the best Elite anthology ever. With the help of Fantastic Books Publishing, he is confident they have done just that. ‘I deliberately set out to find genuine Elite fans, rather than experienced authors,’ he says. ‘It's been a long journey but we’ve come out the other side with fifteen stories, each written by a genuine Elite fan, each expertly illustrated and the whole book professionally edited and published. Our book was made possible by fans through Kickstarter, it was written by fans, and it was illustrated by fans, it’s, truly a collection by the community, for the community.’ Elite: Tales from the Frontier with its 15 stories including Chris Booker’s Crossing the Line will be showcased at FantastiCon on 16th August in Hull, East Yorkshire, where Fantastic Books Publishing will be holding a fantasy and science-fiction extravaganza featuring celebrities from the worlds of Elite, Star Wars and Dr Who. Included will be an official launch party for their Elite fiction. http://www.fantasticon.co.uk/ About the books: Tales from the Frontier is now available from Fantastic Books Publishing along with their authorized Elite novels at https://www.fantasticbookspublishing.com/ Learn more about the anthology and its authors at www.bit.ly/RightOn About the game: Elite: David Braben, creator of Elite: Dangerous, receives an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list: http://www.bbc.co.uk/ Further information about Elite: Dangerous can be found in this interview where Elite author and BBC TV presenter, Kate Russell, talks to David Braben: http://thenextweb.com/ About the Elite science-fiction events: LaveCon is to be held 5th & 6th July 2014: http://laveradio.com/ FantastiCon is to be held 16th August 2014: http://www.fantasticon.co.uk/ Contact details Dan Grubb, CEO, Fantastic Books Publishing Email: fantasticbookspublishing@ Tel: 01964 671997 Website: www.fantasticbookspublishing.com Media Contact Fantastic Books Publishing ***@gmail.com 07415388882 Photos: https://www.prlog.org/ https://www.prlog.org/ https://www.prlog.org/ End
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