In a real sense, the Typhon Pact books (at least so far) are explorations of the individual member races and their societies. There's definitely politics involved--as well as some action-adventure--in their dealings with the Federation, but I consider them exploration books of a different sort, IMO.
There's a lot going on in the Typhon Pact novels, really, a LOT lol I do recommend them, i've loved them so far M
Kinda both, as C.E. Evans said. The idea behind the Typhon Pact was to create a vehicle for taking minor civilizations that hadn't been explored in depth before and bringing them into the spotlight. Much like how the Worlds of Deep Space Nine series was intended to allow in-depth exploration of several different Federation and other cultures featured in DS9, so the Typhon Pact series was intended to do the same for underdeveloped species like the Breen, Gorn, and Tzenkethi, plus the somewhat better-known Romulans and Tholians.
Indeed, not only do we the audience get to explore Breen, Tzenkethi, and Gorn societies, and to see more detail on Romulan and Tholian societies, but, a joint Federation/Romulan project of exploration plays an important role in the plot of Plagues of Night/Raise the Dawn.
^I'd go with what everyone else here has said. We're not seeing "strange new worlds", but we are getting some fairly in depth world building and exploration of the cultures involved. If you have ever been at all curious about the Breen, you need to read Zero Sum Game. EDIT: I was just looking at the rest of this year's books, and Brinksmanship, this month's new Typhon Pact book does involve something new called the Venette Convention.
I already mentioned the Romulans' and Tholians' temporal agencies within the context of the Typhon Pact in Watching the Clock.
We just want moar. *lol* I also hope we'll see a DTI book involving recent events over in Voyager. "Janeway? AGAIN?!"
I believe the original poster was making a reference to all the temporal violations Janeway had racked up and what the DTI's reaction would be to her... I did NOT see this as a reference to anything else. Mike
For me the Typhon Pact series is the bridge between David Mack trilogies. OK, that was an attempt at humor. Actually, like the Destiny trilogy these books cover activities on all the main vessels, Enterprise, Titan, and Aventine. I'm not sure if the Defiant appears (I haven't read them all). They use characters from TNG, DS9, and VOY. They use cultures created or modified in ENT. Is the activity of these exploration? No. They are action/adventure/romance stories. Read them if you want to understand about these fringe cultures that are being presented as "the newest threat to Federation security", or you care about who is having who's baby, or you want to know what "little people" the writers have made up (like half-this/half-that "new Starfleet" teens), or you want to know which bridge officers have which jobs now, or you want to know what would bring Sisko out of retirement. I am reading them for background for future novels. But the Titan's mission of exploration? Again, I haven't read them all YET, but it really seems that mission got scrapped. I would like to be wrong. Maybe someone who has read them all will reassure me, but they don't seem to be seeking out new life or new civilizations. They only seem to be expanding on known civilizations, and sometimes even de-mystifying things that should have stayed mysterious, like the Breen.