STO: The Needs of the Many by M. A. Martin Review Thread (Spoilers!)

Re: Star Trek: Online: The Needs of the Many - Discussion (Spoilers)

Meh. Indign looks like In-dig-N to me. Sue me! It's not like In-dine is such a better sounding name anyway.

 

Re: Star Trek: Online: The Needs of the Many - Discussion (Spoilers)

No, but it's how the real, pre-existing, not-made-up word is actually pronounced.

And does "sign" look to you like it should be pronounced "siggin?"

 

Re: Star Trek: Online: The Needs of the Many - Discussion (Spoilers)

 

Re: Star Trek: Online: The Needs of the Many - Discussion (Spoilers)

The interview Andrew talks about.

 

Re: Star Trek: Online: The Needs of the Many - Discussion (Spoilers)

^ Yes thank you that is where I read about a follow up!

 

Re: Star Trek: Online: The Needs of the Many - Discussion (Spoilers)

I would love a book based on the Battle of Starbase 24. I fought that battle yesterday. It was awesome!

 

Re: Star Trek: Online: The Needs of the Many - Discussion (Spoilers)

"siggin" actually sounds cool...

Not to drag on a meaningless debate any further, but just incase it seemed I was berating you in particular, I just wanted to say I wasnt, just a mini half hearted rant at words.

Besides, I saw "Indign" in the book and read In-Dig-N. Nothing more, nothing less. If that isnt grammatically correct, then meh.

 

Re: Star Trek: Online: The Needs of the Many - Discussion (Spoilers)

Well, I'm glad you deigned to explain before you resigned from this discussion. Pronunciations don't always align with what we'd expect, and not just in foreign words. Confusion can reign when there's no clear design.

Anyway, how about those Sovereign-class starships?

 

Re: Star Trek: Online: The Needs of the Many - Discussion (Spoilers)

Only if my character is featured and is more badass than the other characters in the book.

 

Re: Star Trek: Online: The Needs of the Many - Discussion (Spoilers)

Any one else flashing back to those choose-your-own-adventure books? It'd be a good fit for a Trek game tie-in!

An Undine bio-ship had dropped out of warp .42 light years from your current position. They are approaching your ship unshielded and with weapons powered down.

If you want to open hailing frequencies, turn to page 19.

If you want to avoid a possible altercation and warp out of the system, turn to page 107.

If you want teach them the meaning of grief and loss (with phasers), turn to page 82.

 

Re: Star Trek: Online: The Needs of the Many - Discussion (Spoilers)

I'm game. I pick hailing frequencies.


I'm dead, aren't I?

 

Re: Star Trek: Online: The Needs of the Many - Discussion (Spoilers)

^ Oh yes

 

Re: Star Trek: Online: The Needs of the Many - Discussion (Spoilers)

"Your galaxy has been purged."

 

Re: Star Trek: Online: The Needs of the Many - Discussion (Spoilers)

Finished the book today, after getting it yesterday..

I was surprised to see how much I liked it. I tried not to think about its conflicting continuity with the prime book line, though I started a thread about it a while ago, and there are quite a few methods to resolve the "continuity conflict" - looking at the book (and STO as a whole) as a work of fiction within the Trek prime universe, a military analysis, a temporally-tampered alternate universe or simply an alternate universe a-la Myriad Universes.

Either way, I tried to judge the novel on its own, especially considering the fact that I'm not a gamer and won't be playing STO.

While the novel does not have a "linear" plotline per se, the vignettes approach was a nice change of storytelling method, which provided insights to *a* future for our beloved characters and settings. The nods to prime novel continuity (in various chapters and in the acknowledgments section) were also welcome.

All in all, the novel provided a nice, alternate view of the Star Trek universe at (cold and hot) wartime which, to me, complemented the Dominon War and Borg invasion as a darker look at the Star Trek franchise.

 

Re: Star Trek: Online: The Needs of the Many - Discussion (Spoilers)

I thought it was a servicable novel that could have been great. It had a lot of really interesting bits and Martin really writes these characters "in-voice" well, but there are some really glaring problems with this book...

The first is the dumbass Gorn-Klingon baseball game. There just aren't words to describe how intensely stupid this idea is. Why would either of them agree to this? It's just moronic.

The second is the Martin need to absolutely smack you in the face with his political beliefs/agendas. It wouldn't bother me so much if he hid it better, but to so blatantly make the bumbling idiot president of the Federation an analog of President Bush right down to some of the same real-life issues (almost word for word in some cases) of a couple years ago is just horrible. It completely pulls you out of the story and smashes whatever bubble of disbelief you've built, crashing you right back into the real world. Star Trek is at its best when it can deliver it's message with some SUBTLETY - this was like a punch in the gut.

 

Re: Star Trek: Online: The Needs of the Many - Discussion (Spoilers)

Have you ever actually watched Star Trek? Star Trek's message episodes are about as subtle as a Klingon opera.

 

Re: Star Trek: Online: The Needs of the Many - Discussion (Spoilers)

So I finally got the game up and running, so I dragged this book off the shelf and finally gave it a read.

I like it. I hope somewhere down the road we get another novel or two set in the STO timeline. I wouldn't mind another one set up like this one was, but I'd really like a book or two written in a more common prose format.

 

Re: Star Trek: Online: The Needs of the Many - Discussion (Spoilers)

*Cough* Zombie thread! *cough*

But, yeah, I'd like another one too. Perhaps alternating between a traditional story and interviews, a little like The Romulan Way or Spock's World, but with Jake's interviews in place of the history lessons.

 

Re: Star Trek: Online: The Needs of the Many - Discussion (Spoilers)

Yay Zombie Threads. I didn't see the point in starting a new one.

 

Re: Star Trek: Online: The Needs of the Many - Discussion (Spoilers)

Having read I have to wonder if Martin actually paided more then a very small amount of attention to the game back story becuase a lot of the events that supposedly happened during the timeline (at least according to Martin) never really happened or I least I never got the impression they ever happened. The game makes it seem that the Udine have never gone full scale hot war with the Federation as the only thing the Feds and Klinks are worried about are infiltrators and the Feds would likely take the Udine more seriously as a threat if they were in a hot war with them. Also I haven't seen ANY MACOS in the game all the ground troops are Starfleet not an Earth Military organization that was likely absorbed into starfleet.