Concept: Thomas Book

Original 6/7/2005

Thomas Book

Adventure Serials

Character Quirks
- Indiana Jones
1. Whip
2. Several past failed relationships (romantic and otherwise)
3. Well-Traveled
4. Well-connected (he's got friends in every town from here to the Sudan)
5. Generally well-liked
6. Tries to do the right thing
7. Unresolved issues with his father
8. Mother died when he was young
9. Likes to challenge authority
10. Noble calling
11. Speak much, read some, write less

Dean Corsoe
1. Merchant Mercenary
2. Doesn't trust anyone much
3. Several contacts, few friends
4. Respected for his accomplishments, but generally well liked
5. Almost no relations with his parents
6. Few personal, material or social ties to hold him in any one place.
7. Well-traveled
8. General Bullshitter
9. He believes in his percentage
10. Read much, speak little, write less.

Thomas Book - Character Sketch
1. No relationship with his parents
2. Several contacts, few friends
3. Few personal, material or social ties to hold him in any one place for long
4. Read much, speak little, write more
5. Well-traveled
6. Unresolved issues with his Uncle Julian
7. Questing Nature
8. Shaolin Staff Fighting?
9. Loves kung-fu movies and Chinese food - learned most of his kung fu from the movies.
10. He has a Mailboxes Etc. account where he sends his completed journals while he's over seas. This way he knows that they're just waiting for him. He tries to get back to the account once in a while to pick up the journals and put them into safer storage.
11. He has another account at a coffee roastery where he stores his beans until he needs them. Inside the bean account, he has a passport and a few thousand dollars as an escape plan.
12. Always a back door. Always a plan
13. One journal for each 'quest', dig
14. Satchel of useful things
15. History of failed relationships with women, some success with men
17. Uncle Julian became a surrogate parent and big brother to Book when his parents died in one of the planes of 9/11. By this time, Book was in college for his Master's degree so it was just to give him some sense of connection.

The Adventures of Thomas Book in 1920's?

Titanic 1912
King tut 1927

Neo Victorian
The world is still small
There are still blank places on the map
Steam Ships
World War I
1890 - 1930 Period
1929 Stock market crash

This would make Uncle Julian an Occultist
British Museum
Royal Geographic Society

He can never seem to actually write his Dissertation to get his Ph.D.
Every time he tries to get it done, something jumps up that he can't miss.

Uncle Julian has money the old fashioned way - he inherited it. Thomas' journals are mailed back to Julian for safe keeping. Julian has been all over the world several times and then, when Thomas turned 25, he came home and hasn't really left. He's poured himself into his research.

When was the Anenerbe founded? Thule Society?

Templar gold - scotland
Curse of the Mummy - Egypt
Machu Pichu - peru

Fountain pens?
Communication mediums? Radio, telegraph, telegram
Travel - Steamship, Dirigible, Rail,
Linburg - 1927 Trans-Atlantic
Submarine?

Allies
Submarine Pilot - Capt. Roark (ret)
Steamboat Pilot -
Airplane Pilot - (Midwest Barnstormer)
Professional Jewel thief (Ariana)
Steam Engineer - Chloe

Movies:
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Rocketman
King Kong
The Adventures of Jules Verne
The Mummy (Part 1 and 2)
Alan Quartermain (King Solomon's Mines)

Satchel:

Canvas with leather strap

3 Journals (Current, Reference, Blank)
- Thin journal, probably a modified size 2
Fountain Pen and 2 bottles of ink (in a wooden case)
Envelopes and letter paper, sealing wax
Mag glass
Compass (military or otherwise)
Match case
Small Camera


Jewelry
1. Signet Ring
2. Necklace (Malachite (something egyptian))

Tattoos
1. Ankle band? (South American)

Childhood -

Uncle Julian was his guardian after his parents died in an accident. His uncle was an explorer (occultist) and traveled the ancient world extensively looking for bits of this and bits of that. He went to China, Japan, South America, all over Europe, and always drug young Thomas along with him.

At first Thomas was confused that they never seemed to stay put in one place, but then enjoyed the 'adventure' of always going from one place to another.

Summers were always spent traveling with Julian or finding him on some trip. During his Master's degree, the two started to split up but remained connected. Julian became more secretive about his research and the details of his trips and suggested that Thomas might enjoy some adventures of his own.

Thomas speaks Mandarin and Arabic with passing fluency.

Mother, Emma, was British and Father, Maxwell.

Emma is sister to Julian Blackwell

Assisting Characters
1. Karl Gagen - Friar from VanHelsing. Inventor
2. Bridget X - Saphron from Serenity. Thief.
3. Adira - Anara from Serenity. Thief. Agent. Society member

Timeline from 1890 to 1939 (Invasion of Poland)

Thomas lives in New York in 1921, above a bookstore

Jade Dragon Shipping Company - front for the organization that killed his parents. Xian Yu, leader

Thomas played piano in a New Orleans Jazz club for a year, it's where he met Ms. Susan - a HooDoo woman.

Thomas is a big fan of Zorro and always wanted to have some version of the Fox's Lair of his very own. So he has something like the Phantom's lair under the bookstore as a trophy room and 'sanctuary'. The loft apartment above the bookstore is more for guests and lovers to see.

See also:

1. Thomas Book: Characters

2. Thomas Book: Locations

3. Thomas Book: Props

TB: Character: Rick Hunter

Half of the Thomas Book stories involve friends that he's either made along the way or will make through the course of the journal. These friends are often larger than life and sort of like Thomas' own Seven Samurai if he ever had to pull in help. One of these friends is a character by the name of "Eric (Rick) J. Hunter".

Rick Hunter, one of Thomas' best friends and guides in the Amazon

I'm not sure how they met, but I'm guessing it involved some kind of adventure in a forgotten Mayan temple. Maybe Rick helped Thomas get out or Thomas used his contacts to bail Rick out of a Columbian jail. Anything's possible but I like the 'bailing him out of jail' idea. Rick strikes me as the kind of guy who would get ankle deep into trouble before he got his boots laced up in the morning and would end up waist-deep in trouble before lunch if there was a friend involved.

Rick and Thomas have the kind of relationship where half of their conversations involve "Remember that time when..."

It would be very bad if any of Thomas friends back in New York were to ever get Rick drunk enough to start telling stories about their trips together. While in NY, Thomas tries to keep an image of respectability and professionalism, but a few bottles of some scotch (Rick's favorite drink) and he'd be more than just a little embarrassed.

TB: Character: Elizabeth Longstreet Sommerset

Miss ..... Elizabeth Longstreet Sommerset

"Of the Savannah Sommersets, if you please, sir. Atlanta is so low; all that new money."

Bachelor's degree majors in Ancient Greek, Latin, etymology. Master's degree in Symbolic Logic.

Doctorate in Ancient Cultures.

Working on a second Doctorate in linguistics.

She has her own theory (The Babel Theory) that all languages are connected to a unique, extinct root.

She's an expert swordswoman - lettering in Fencing (foil and epee) while at Mt. Holyoak and Wellesley University. Even to this day she is known to show up and teach Yale's fencing club a lesson in humility. When out and about, she carries a lady's umbrella with a hidden epee blade.

cryptography being her hobby/obsession

When she publishes, it's under the name "Peter Longstreet." She's like a grand niece of General James Longstreet (called Pete by his friends), and uses his name when she writes.

Gear: Thomas Book's Flashlight

According to Wikipedia: The invention of the dry cell and miniature incandescent electric light bulbs made the first battery-powered flashlights possible around the year 1899 A.D. So it's not impossible that Book had his own, special, flash light prior to this time but it would have been made by some mad scientist who was experimenting with the combination of light bulbs and batteries. The light isn't that strong but it's more than what you would see from a few dozen candles. (as there's no reference for how bright early flashlights were). However, since this is a steam-punk verse, the flashlight "could" have three settings: off, on and HOLY JEEBUS!

Mountainside Castle

Originally used in Sherlock Holmes for the Richenbach Falls, this mountain-side castle would be a perfect location for the base of a secret society or some cool evil villian.

Blackthorn: Travel and Technology

In the Jules Verne-esque, Steampunk world of Thomas Book, travel is handled a bit differently than what was documented in the years prior to 1920. Specifically, the technology of travel is considerably different.

LAND:
The most common form of transportation was across land; generally in the form of the steam locomotive.

Train tracks criss-crossed the various nations of the world. From the metropolis cities of the United States to the untamed wilds of Eastern Europe, rail was the fastest way to travel on land. As this meant that passengers would be on the tracks for days at a time (for longer voyages) several of the rail companies created palaces of locomotive luxury where the wealthy could recline and relax and enjoy the scenery.

More than a few wealthy Coal and 'Steam' barons, invested in their own rail cars to the extent that they became almost like a mechanical yacht and were used to tour around the country whenever needed.

Cities such as Chicago and New York have even created smaller rails that encircle their borders and even travel under ground to move people here and there. (Steam-powered Subway)

SEA:
Aside from land travel, the next most common form of transport is that of ocean travel. Steam-powered ships like the Titanic disgorge an innumerable mass of passengers at the ports of San Francisco, New York and London every week. Again, as travel is slower greater luxury has been created for those who can afford it.

A recent project to increase shipping from the east to the west has been the creation of a canal near the South American city of Panama.

AIR:

The least common form of transport is that of Air Travel. Only the wealthy could afford such means but for those who could, it became a floating palace to move from city to city. Considerably faster than rail travel because of their ability to ignore topography, Air Ships are extensively used in Europe where the terrain makes rail travel lengthy.

Newly adopted by the American cities, Air Ship tethers are becoming more and more common for the skyscrapers in Los Angels, New York and Chicago.

JoTB: Hook Pistol

The pistol was made by Thomas' friend and inventor, Dr. Hugo (something), the Swiss Clock maker.

The pistol is a gas-propelled and fires a steel hook with spring-loaded prongs. A sliding scale on the side of the pistol dictates the amount of gas used and how far the hook will go a maximum of 50 feet.

The spool is detachable and can be clipped to Thomas' belt so he can swing on the braided silk cord. The small gas canister must be replaced after 1 shot at maximum range.

Dr. Hugo made this for Thomas after hearing that he was trapped on a building's ledge and some thugs were trying to kill him. Thomas carries the Hook Pistol in an outer, side pocket on his Utility Bag (tm).

Pics of the Nautilus

I found these pics when I was doing a search for technology I can pull in for the Journals of Thomas Book series.

New Thomas Book Covers

I'm at it again. I can't stop from playing with creating a few pieces of 'Cover Art'. The new face of Thomas Book is a 1920's - 1930's pulp style of fiction so I'm trying to push things more in that theme. This new cover represents the first adventure (journal) of Thomas Book; "The Jade Dragon".

The first version of the cover has a cool shadow effect but is still legible. I'm not sure if I like this version better than the other, more simple version.


Each of the adventures will be a new journal and based on his own notes about what happened when he was out and about on his travels.

Location: Apartment

This is Thomas Book's place. It's not much, but it's home.

The ground floor is a book store (on the left side of the building) and some other business (I have no idea yet) on the other.

The stairs to the second floor are accessed by the front doorway - between the two doors that open to the bookstore on one side and the other business.

The second floor of the building is fairly small with the living room shown with the Edwardian facade.

Edit: 8/3/08

This bookstore / apartment combo is great but not for the start of Thomas Book. Originally he has his uncle's fire house to use.