I have read Titan #1, #2, & #3...reading #4 - Page 2

Cicero · September 13 2008, 02:23 AM

Unfortunately, I've so far found each new installment of this series a significant step down from its immediate antecedent. Taking Wing was half excellent and half mediocre (I suspect I like one of the co-writers work, but not the other; I've no idea whose writing I like), The Red King was generally bland with both outstanding and unfortunate portions, Orion's Hounds was altogether bad (except for the alien science officer who left the ship), and Sword of Damocles was terrible. I hold out hope still. The next volume might win me over.

Also, I love Doctor Ree and Christine Vale.

RaymondJames · September 13 2008, 02:33 AM

Cicero wrote:

Unfortunately, I've so far found each new installment of this series a significant step down from its immediate antecedent. Taking Wing was half excellent and half mediocre (I suspect I like one of the co-writers work, but not the other; I've no idea whose writing I like), The Red King was generally bland with both outstanding and unfortunate portions, Orion's Hounds was altogether bad (except for the alien science officer who left the ship), and Sword of Damocles was terrible. I hold out hope still. The next volume might win me over.

Also, I love Doctor Ree and Christine Vale.

same here, I loved Dentara the Romulan female. It was the Romulans and Klingons and Remans which made #1 so good. I hate Captain William Riker, he let Dentara get away with cold blooded murder of a Klingon and he knows it! Sure you don't want the Romulan-Federation relationship getting worse but by covering up Muder...thats so wrong

I like Vale.

Nerys Myk · September 13 2008, 04:52 AM

Cant get enough of this series. Heck If you told me a few years ago I'd be looking forward to a series starring Riker and Troi I'd say you were nuts!

RaymondJames · September 13 2008, 05:06 AM

Nerys Myk wrote:

Cant get enough of this series. Heck If you told me a few years ago I'd be looking forward to a series starring Riker and Troi I'd say you were nuts!

true.
I like Riker and I like troi but as a couple on the same ship its annoying at times.

Trent Roman · September 13 2008, 05:16 AM

RaymondJames wrote:

same here, I loved Dentara the Romulan female.

I'm wary of females named Dentara, myself. They've got one hell of a mouth on them, and really know how to cut to the quick.

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

(P.S. The name is actually Donatra.)

Julio Angel Ortiz · September 13 2008, 05:55 AM

Wow, there is some hate going on around here for my favorite series.

I think the series has had a lot of nice variety so far. The first book was a political / action adventure and the necessary follow-up to Nemesis. The Red King (which I'll grant is probably the weakest of the bunch, but IMHO not bad at all) is a follow-up to The Sundered, and (as I saw it) thematically foreshadowed their ultimate mission of exploration. Orion's Hounds, my favorite of the bunch, worked on a lot of levels: the incredible worldbuilding done by Christopher regarding the races and cosmozoans (sic?), its scope, and- being Titan's first exploratory mission- the thematic links back to the first TNG episode, "Encounter at Farpoint."

I recently finished re-reading Sword of Damocles, and having enjoyed it the first time around, I enjoyed it even more the second time. I'm a sucker for time travel / paradox stories, and I was happy to see one this early in the Titan series. The Orishan society, and the concept of the Eye, were just fascinating. Lots of emotional impact (the Riker / Troi tension; Vale, Troi, and company finding the wreckage; the scene with Riker and the Orishan from the ship and its last words; the flashbacks to Jaza's life; and that ending...).

Yep, love this series, and can't wait for Destiny to arrive to read more of Titan's adventures.

captcalhoun · September 13 2008, 07:35 AM

anyone who thinks TTN #3 is bad gets their Trekkie card revoked.

Thrawn · September 13 2008, 07:47 AM

Sword of Damocles totally smacked me in the brain, and I wasn't expecting it at all. I knew Orion's Hounds and, to a lesser extent, the other two would be awesome because of what I'd read of the authors previously; Thorne was new, and I'd heard some kinda iffy things, so I wasn't expecting anything great. I totally loved it. Untangling the language, the timelines, the backstory, it was all just so damn intricate and fascinating and viscerally important. I think Thorne has the most unique writing style to hit trek lit since Peter David; if he ever writes another one, I'd be able to tell you it was him after reading a couple pages, and that's not really true of any of the others except maybe KRAD.

I know opinions differ, and there's a lot of "meh" about the book in this thread in particular, but I think it's hard to make something that unique and challenging without a lot of people hating it. I just wanted to counteract that by saying that it's definitely my favorite Titan, and I hope Thorne gets another crack at a Trek novel in the future.

KRAD · September 13 2008, 07:50 AM

^ Okay, now I'm curious. How do you know it's me right away?

Thrawn · September 13 2008, 07:53 AM

KRAD wrote:

^ Okay, now I'm curious. How do you know it's me right away?

You're funnier than most of the rest

More specifically, I haven't studied writing or written myself enough to be able to make sense, but the best way I can describe it is that it seems to me like most Trek writers try for prose that is more or less invisible, writing that's not juvenile but just simple, without any distracting flights of verbiage. And that's pretty consistent. You and PAD like to play with the language a little more humorously, but Thorne is one of the only ones I've seen lately that really plays with the visceral, immediate imagery of scenes in interesting ways.

If that makes any sense at all.

captcalhoun · September 13 2008, 01:49 PM

KRAD wrote:

^ Okay, now I'm curious. How do you know it's me right away?

cuz it's either got Klingons or baseball in...

Starbreaker · September 13 2008, 06:44 PM

You could just look at the cover and see his name written there. Very simple.

LightningStorm · September 13 2008, 07:06 PM

KRAD wrote:

^ Okay, now I'm curious. How do you know it's me right away?

For me, it's the continuity porn... done well. You can put in references to like EVERYTHING that ever happened in Trek's past and still make it not seem like low quality fanfic, and make it believable that all of those things do indeed fit the story at hand.

Christopher · September 13 2008, 07:35 PM

LightningStorm wrote:

For me, it's the continuity porn... done well.

When it's done well, it's continuity erotica.

KRAD · September 13 2008, 09:00 PM

captcalhoun wrote:

cuz it's either got Klingons or baseball in...

Hey, some stories have Klingons and baseball! (Enterprises of Great Pitch and Moment, Q & A, Articles of the Federation, and A Time for War, a Time for Peace).

Actually, here's a KRADlist (pat. pending):

Star Trek tales by Keith R.A. DeCandido that have no Klingons or baseball in them:
Novels
Demons of Air and Darkness
The Brave and the Bold Book 1
Ferenginar: Satisfaction is Not Guaranteed

Novellas
Fatal Error
Cold Fusion
Invincible Books 1-2
Here There Be Monsters
War Stories Book 2
Security

Short stories
"The Ceremony of Innocence is Drowned"
"Letting Go"

If we discount stories in which Worf is the only Klingon who appears by virtue of him being a main character, we can add the Perchance to Dream comic book, Many Splendors, "Broken Oaths," and "Revelations."

(Of course, that still leaves 13 novels, 4 novellas, one comic book, and 3 short stories that have Klingons and/or baseball............)

September 13 2008, 02:23 AM	#16
Cicero Admiral Location: The City of Destiny	Re: I have read Titan #1, #2, & #3...reading #4 Unfortunately, I've so far found each new installment of this series a significant step down from its immediate antecedent. Taking Wing was half excellent and half mediocre (I suspect I like one of the co-writers work, but not the other; I've no idea whose writing I like), The Red King was generally bland with both outstanding and unfortunate portions, Orion's Hounds was altogether bad (except for the alien science officer who left the ship), and Sword of Damocles was terrible. I hold out hope still. The next volume might win me over. Also, I love Doctor Ree and Christine Vale. __________________ Ad majorem futuri gloriam.

September 13 2008, 04:52 AM	#18
Nerys Myk Admiral Location: House of Kang, now with ridges	Re: I have read Titan #1, #2, & #3...reading #4 Cant get enough of this series. Heck If you told me a few years ago I'd be looking forward to a series starring Riker and Troi I'd say you were nuts! __________________ Nerys Myk's Midnight In Never Land A novel of Dark Fantasy @ Amazon.com

September 13 2008, 05:55 AM	#21
Julio Angel Ortiz Fleet Captain Location: Pennsylvania, USA	Re: I have read Titan #1, #2, & #3...reading #4 Wow, there is some hate going on around here for my favorite series. I think the series has had a lot of nice variety so far. The first book was a political / action adventure and the necessary follow-up to Nemesis. The Red King (which I'll grant is probably the weakest of the bunch, but IMHO not bad at all) is a follow-up to The Sundered, and (as I saw it) thematically foreshadowed their ultimate mission of exploration. Orion's Hounds, my favorite of the bunch, worked on a lot of levels: the incredible worldbuilding done by Christopher regarding the races and cosmozoans (sic?), its scope, and- being Titan's first exploratory mission- the thematic links back to the first TNG episode, "Encounter at Farpoint." I recently finished re-reading Sword of Damocles, and having enjoyed it the first time around, I enjoyed it even more the second time. I'm a sucker for time travel / paradox stories, and I was happy to see one this early in the Titan series. The Orishan society, and the concept of the Eye, were just fascinating. Lots of emotional impact (the Riker / Troi tension; Vale, Troi, and company finding the wreckage; the scene with Riker and the Orishan from the ship and its last words; the flashbacks to Jaza's life; and that ending...). Yep, love this series, and can't wait for Destiny to arrive to read more of Titan's adventures. __________________ Blog \| Star Trek: Titan Guide

September 13 2008, 07:35 AM	#22
captcalhoun Admiral Location: gone	Re: I have read Titan #1, #2, & #3...reading #4 anyone who thinks TTN #3 is bad gets their Trekkie card revoked.

September 13 2008, 07:47 AM	#23
Thrawn Commodore Location: Washington, DC	Re: I have read Titan #1, #2, & #3...reading #4 Sword of Damocles totally smacked me in the brain, and I wasn't expecting it at all. I knew Orion's Hounds and, to a lesser extent, the other two would be awesome because of what I'd read of the authors previously; Thorne was new, and I'd heard some kinda iffy things, so I wasn't expecting anything great. I totally loved it. Untangling the language, the timelines, the backstory, it was all just so damn intricate and fascinating and viscerally important. I think Thorne has the most unique writing style to hit trek lit since Peter David; if he ever writes another one, I'd be able to tell you it was him after reading a couple pages, and that's not really true of any of the others except maybe KRAD. I know opinions differ, and there's a lot of "meh" about the book in this thread in particular, but I think it's hard to make something that unique and challenging without a lot of people hating it. I just wanted to counteract that by saying that it's definitely my favorite Titan, and I hope Thorne gets another crack at a Trek novel in the future.

STAR TREK

CSI

ABOUT US

September 13 2008, 07:50 AM	#24
KRAD Keith R.A. DeCandido Location: New York City	Re: I have read Titan #1, #2, & #3...reading #4 ^ Okay, now I'm curious. How do you know it's me right away? __________________ Keith R.A. DeCandido Blog \| Facebook \| Twitter "Even when you turn your back, you're facing something."

September 13 2008, 06:44 PM	#27
Starbreaker Fleet Admiral	Re: I have read Titan #1, #2, & #3...reading #4 You could just look at the cover and see his name written there. Very simple.