The Trouble with Paradise is the 4th proposed serial in the Spectral Shadows series. It was completed in 1986 and is one of the serials sent to The Library Of Congress for copyrightingin 1993.
Unlike most other serials in this series which have either gone though endless rewrites and expansions, or have had no work done on them at all, Serial 4 took only a month to complete and had a minor rewrite to adjust for the Anime influences The Author had worked into the over all series just before the 1993 copyrighting and a few more minor adjustments for the internet publication in 2014 to account for altered continuity in other serials. Thus The Author's first and only attempt to conceive and complete a full story in a short time is preserved mostly in tact as a demonstration of how The Author conceived the series in the mid 1980's.
Plot[]
Their first journey in the Sound Chaser Rocinantè takes main characters Jon and Rael Ommandeer to a planet called Pentalous where species that have become extinct on other worlds live in eternal peace by decree of Omman-Ra.
The planet is ruled by a benevolent race of colorful Pentalian Equines and their colorful humanoid consorts, The Manàge - originally two distinctively different species that were brought together as one due to their inability to co-exist in peace.
Here Jon and Rael are left alone to prove their skills at surviving on alien worlds. They make friends with and are temporarily adopted by The Ontonashi Family who instruct them in the ways of Pentalous.
During an innocent game, a malignant entity called Makura is released to inflict heartless destruction on the helpless Pentalians. Jon and Rael face off against it to disastrous results. It then falls to Captain Shane Ommandeer to deal with Makura.
Over the course of the serial, forbidden romances develop between Rael and Melinda Ontonashi, as well as Jon and Mandy Nakayoshi. These ill-fated romances will produce serious complications for both main characters throughout the course of the series.
List of Episodes[]
For a complete list of episodes see List of Serial 4 Episodes
Currently there are five episodes in Serial 4, including the Opening Radio Script bonus feature. Serial 4 could be said to be in active development, as The Author sometimes zigzags between posting Serial 11 episodes and Serial 4 episodes.
Conception[]
Serial 4 was developed in the mid 1980's while The Author was involved in the original My Little Pony fandom. Noticing a number of unanswered questions in the concept of the My Little Pony series, The Author conceived a story that would attempt to answer these questions, and in doing show demonstrate that a story about colorful fantasy equines could have appeal for adult aged Sci-Fi Fantasy fans.
The serial also contains much influence from the Spellsinger and Xanth novel series that The Author was enjoying at the time, as well as Doctor Who.