A name...

[ralphkern]

I am close to finishing the first draft of my second novel and I am looking at changing some place holder names for a variety of reasons.

The most significant one, by far, is the name of a starship, that will also form the title of the novel.

At the moment, she is called 'Hawking' but there are a few reasons I don't want to use this name. For one, due to events in the novel it may be viewed as slightly disrespectful to who it is named after. Two, considering plot events that are involved, it would be a little too hackneyed. Three, it doesn't fit in with the naming conventions of that class of ship.

So the ship:

She is an explorer vessel, built during the days of humanities first forays to the nearest stars. She is not a warship although does get involved in a couple of battles, but they are mostly about using tactics and improvised weapons than her actually being armed.

The conventions for this class is that they are named after either famous explorers or famous exploration ships through history (this is historical to the novel as well, so would include contemporary space age).

At the moment, I am thinking 'Magellan' but feel that may be a somewhat cumbersome title, however am willing to go with it.

One's that I have eliminated for various plot reasons or simply they don't fit for me.

Discovery, Odyssey, Armstrong, Voyager, Enterprise(I'm sure someone would have suggested it!), Beagle, Columbus, Anything too far out of public consciousness (e.g. Zheng He).

Possibilities I am considering:

Apollo (although a 'competing' ship is already called Gagarin and I'm happy with that one as I don't feel Russian accomplishments are reflected enough in sci fi. This isn't a cold war allegory)

Magellan (As I say, nice but maybe a little too cumbersome)

Pioneer (not sure it captures the mood)

Endurance (I like this one as it fits in well with the theme of the book too, they have to overcome some nasty situations but... is may be too close to the title of the first novel in the series 'Endeavour' however that might be also be a bonus so an opinion on that would be welcome)

The theme of the book, that it would be nice to capture with the name, is that it is more a mystery crime thriller in space that spans several star systems than a straight sci fi. It is a mix of a whodunnit and then once that's resolved a whydidit, combined with a healthy dose of ancient alien artifacts.

Any suggestions or opinions on my ideas are more than welcome.

 

[tinkerdan]

I'm partial to Roald Amundsen
Either the Amundsen or the Roald
or maybe even the Amundsen–Scott

 

[TheDustyZebra]

I like Endurance as a follow-on to Endeavor, as long as you could find similar titles for subsequent books, if there are to be more.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Shackleton was the master of improvisation in a tough spot, so I vote Endurance.

 

[Droflet]

Since you're doing a series how about sticking with Endeavor?

EGs: Endeavor's Way. Endeavor's Gambit. Endeavor's Peril.

Just a thought.

 

[alchemist]

Magellan works fine for me.

Or if you want to reference space exploration, Mariner.

 

[LittleStar]

Just a thought, but is there anything stopping you from referencing non-historical explrores? Maybe Hawking was the fist reason to walk on Venus. If you wanted to keep it as is.
Otherwise, I quite like 'Magellen' for a name. Personally i think 'Endurance' sounds a bit too twee and cliche.

 

[Mirannan]

In tune with recent events, Rosetta. Also maybe Golden Hind. Or Explorer.

Famous explorers? Well, how about Lewis and Clark? Or Livingstone?

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

I'm a kiwi so naturally I'd go with Endeavor.

However have you considered mythological explorer's and their ships? Argo springs to mind. Also Nautilus.

Cheers, Greg.

 

[alchemist]

Brendan is another one, but that might be getting too obscure.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Brendan is another one, but that might be getting too obscure.

I get the reference, but the idea of the good spaceship Brendan made me snigger. Sorry.

 

[Cat's Cradle]

I like Magellan too, if you're going explorer, but I'll offer an alternative that takes things in a different direction. How about naming the ship the Perchance, from these lines of of Shakespeare:

To die, to sleep,
To sleep, perchance to Dream; Aye, there's the rub,
For in that sleep of death, what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause.

Seems like kind of a cool background for an interstellar exploration ship. It may go against the common conventions for the naming of ships in your universe, but maybe that's what could help set it apart from the other ships? And certainly your crew will be shuffling off the mortal coil of familiar existence when they reach new star systems (not sure if they go into suspended animation, but if so, it must surely feel like a small death...and the things they would dream of, being amongst the first humans to reach a new star!). Okay, I'm probably trying to be overly helpful, but just an odd suggestion, good luck! CC

 

[JoanDrake]

Speke, after William Hanning Speke, Discoverer of the source of the Nile.


Or just to be bitchily ironic, Burton. Richard Burton (no relation to the actor.) He was his co-Discoverer or could have been if he didn't spend much of the expedition becoming Speke's greatest rival and enemy. Also the first "white" man into Mecca. Two more opposite men would be difficult to find. Speke was the very epitome of the staid but dogged Victorian. Burton was among the first to write a compilation of the world's sexual habits, (much gleaned from first hand experience it is thought) and the definitive English translation of the Kama Sutra, but also known for a mercurial temperament which sometimes made him lose interest in his expeditions while on them.

 

[alchemist]

Or just to be bitchily ironic, Burton. Richard Burton (no relation to the actor.) He was his co-Discoverer or could have been if he didn't spend much of the expedition becoming Speke's greatest rival and enemy. Also the first "white" man into Mecca. Two more opposite men would be difficult to find. Speke was the very epitome of the staid but dogged Victorian. Burton was among the first to write a compilation of the world's sexual habits, (much gleaned from first hand experience it is thought) and the definitive English translation of the Kama Sutra, but also known for a mercurial temperament which sometimes made him lose interest in his expeditions while on them.

And the main character of Riverworld! Which made me research him.

 

[Ursa major]

What about the Zheng He?

 

[farntfar]

So what about Terechkova?

 

[jastius]

you could name it after a scientist (carl sagan comes to mind or issac asimov, einstein, sir issac newton, tesla); a leader (kennedy, or roosevelt); explorer (lewis and clark, marco polo, columbus); or diplomat (carnegy, switzer).

 

[ralphkern]

Guys,

Some great suggestions here, love 'em all and what's more I will be changing a few incidental names to reflect these.

Some of them I won't be using are the one's which are more than one word. For some reason I have a thing for single word titles, which means that it is especially important to have the RIGHT word.

Some of them are actually already in use in the book, Zheng He for example is the name of another ship and Rosetta is the name of a first contact protocol that is used.

Speke, Shackleton and Mariner, I like! and will try and actually find a place for, just not for the title ship. Lewis & Clarke more embodies Superman these days though (unfortunately) and Richard Burton, Jurassic Park in public consciousness.

Brendan?... I am not calling the weighty tome I am trying to give man birth to a boy band singers name!

I think that leaves Magellan and Endurance as the two titles/names in the running. As she is a sister ship of Endeavour, I suppose that would be an argument for going for Endurance (and the naming convention as defined by the builders would be more tightly kept to).

That does probably mean I have to change the final book to be called something beginning with 'End' though...

And seen as the end of this plot arc will see humanity transcending then maybe 'Ending' would be quite fitting... (But that decision is a fair way away yet!)

 

[barrett1987]

OK Ralph, i hear what you are saying, i read between the lines. YES! You can name your ship after me. Barrett or The Barrett.

Your welcome!