Seeing as the above-named title is now in the stores, would anyone object to a thread here on the subject?
Well, they do include little quiet salutes to the "Rihannsu" and "Vanguard" novels. That's a good start in that direction. Not perfect, not yet...
Well, one way to interpret different takes would be to say that each offering is a different layer. Imagine the Fed in between Klingons and Romulans and source A has the Klingons to the left and the other to the right. From galaxy edge on, you just imagine slanted towers that thin in the middle, and it still works...
Cross-posted from my Livejournal... I like the "artists' impression" approach taken with the "Known Space" and "Vulcan at Surak's Passing" pieces. It reminds me that cartography is often an art as much as a science. As to the Romulan Empire map: Would the Romulan artist have been chosen for multi-linguistic skill? Granted that translator software is likely available to all the local powers neighbouring the Federation, but I do wonder if the artist's supervisors would have preferred that it not be necessary. Also, guessing that all inhabited systems between Hobus and Romulus were also toasted by that supernova's combined subspace/realspace effects. As well as those within the bounds of the radius distance connecting the two. Two Denobulas? Denobula Triaxa I remember from Enterprise. The Romulan War map is designed to be consistent with 47North's other Trek publication, Federation: the First 150 Years. That publication wasn't consistent with any of the previous published accounts of that war, so far as I know. There are nods in the accounts of Romulan history there and here saluting the work of Diane Duane, though, particular in reference to Ch'Rihan. Missing the sector grid on the UFP historical map. For some reason, I seem hung up on sector grids! And the location of the nearer systems of the Delphic Expanse from Enterprise is finally (mostly) settled. If Jed Whitten figures out real-universe stars to map to worlds like Azati Prime and New Xindus, Wondering if there was some slight tinkering with the Cardassian-UFP border for this project. Something looks different, but I'm not quite sure where or how. Thanks for the shout-out to the Vanguard novels by David Mack, Dayton Ward, and their assorted partners in documenting "the crimes of the Taurus Reach", whether committed by the Federation, Klingons, Tholians, or Shedai. Regarding the translations for the Vulcan, Romulan and Klingon maps: who should we assume picked the fonts for the post-translation text? Memory Alpha personnel?
What are you guys talking about? Is there a new maps book? New since the Star Trek: Star Charts book? --Alex
New maps book plus a collection of ten fold-out maps. Yes. Yes. It builds on the foundation of Star Charts.
And Christopher's figured out a possible explanation over on the TrekLit board for "Denobula Prime": it's actually Denebola/Beta Leonis.
^Maybe. I'm going by the rough description of where it is on the map, and my best estimate of where the star would show up on that projection (from using a 3D star map program and trying to align the viewpoint so that the star positions roughly correspond to the map projection). It's possible the mapmaker misread "Denebola" as "Denobula." It wouldn't be the first time I've seen that happen.
If Christopher is correct then Denobula Triaxa is placed where on the Cartography charts(the same location as on the SC?
Yes, it's a new product. I haven't seen the maps except for online images in amazon, but it seems to like the old 1980 maps plus booklets. All updated of course to the latest info, plus a klingon map in klingon too apparently. Looks interesting.
^Stellar Cartography's maps are based on the ones from Geoffrey Mandel's 2002 Star Charts, but in a classier format, and with some new information added, such as the location of the Delphic Expanse, a map of events from the Dominion War, and a Romulan War map based on last year's Federation: The First 150 Years book from the same publisher (not Pocket). Plus "historical" maps supposedly made by the Vulcans, Klingons, Cardassians, etc. Although it's intended more as a coffee-table art book kind of project than a detailed technical-manual kind of thing, so I gather the maps are less detailed in other respects than the ones in Star Charts, as well as less comprehensive (no Gamma or Delta Quadrant coverage).
I do like the idea of "maps as cultural artworks" playing out in this particular edition via the "Known Space" Andorian art, as well as the Vulcan, Romulan, Klingon and Romulan samplings.
On a related note: wondering how ESA's Gaia mission will affect future editions of similar-minded projects.
I did notice in the companion book that the author mentioned the Xindi attack was in 2163, which I would imagine is just a typo. I was a little disappointed the Delta & Gamma Quadrants were mostly ignored, brief mentions & a large view map showing them a little. However it was nice to see where they decided to place The Expanse, was also nice to see where they placed the Bassen Rift (from Nemesis) & Hobus, the star that took out Romulus via a 'subspace supernova' giving us the JJverse.
Noting that the Bassen Rift looks to be roughly the same "neighbourhood" - looking from the "top" down through the galactic equatorial plane - as Gamma Pavonis. This doesn't mean that the Rift and Gamma Pav are at the same "altitude", but there may be implications useful to writers down the line. As to Hobus, it's shown as an F+A binary if I'm reading the map correctly, and the "top-down" view makes it appear roughly 10 lightyears rimward of Romulus/Remus. If that's correct, then other systems "between" Hobus and Romulus/Remus and elsewhere in that 10 ly radius likely have taken the same kind of "hit".