So What Are you Reading?: Generations

[BritishSeaPower]

Finished Spirit Walk: Enemy of My Enemy. Wasn't bad, but not very good either. Felt very phoned in in places. Storylines are completely abandoned for no discernible reason. (Lyssa Campbell's C-story from Book 1 is never mentioned again. Tare's rape issue all but disappears until the end of the book, making the whole Kaz calls her out on it seem decidedly dickish on his part). It's very clear that there was meant to be a direct continuation from Spirit Walk into another Golden-penned book with so many hanging threads. As well, I really don't get the point of making a big deal out of Voyager-vets vs. Dominion War vets only to have the entire story saved by Vouager-vets and Kaz who's sympathetic to them. Oh well. I will say, the book did get me longing for Voyager, which is a good thing. I'm itching to jump to Beyer novels, but have resolved to tackle the Trek-verse in order now that I'm on the cusp of starting to A Time To... novels.

Right now, I'm two stories in to Prophecy and Change, which I know I probably should have read in its published order before Unity but I couldn't wait! My plan of attack is to read the 6 Worlds of DS9 Novellas, 3 DS9/SCE X-Overs and Kira's Captain's Table story and alternate them with the 9 A Time To... Books.

[bbailey861]

John Wayne: The Man Behind the Myth, by Michael Munn.

[JD]

BritishSeaPower wrote:

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Right now, I'm two stories in to Prophecy and Change, which I know I probably should have read in its published order before Unity but I couldn't wait! My plan of attack is to read the 6 Worlds of DS9 Novellas, 3 DS9/SCE X-Overs and Kira's Captain's Table story and alternate them with the 9 A Time To... Books.

It doesn't really matter when you read P&C, all of the stories except the Garak one take place during the series, and the Garak one is (I believe) set decades after the relaunch. I read all of the stories up the Garak one, I only got a few pages into that one before I found it too confusing and quit. I really enjoyed the rest of the stories though.

[BritishSeaPower]

JD, I figured that was more or less true, but I'd been advised that there are some mentions of content from P&C in the Worlds of DS9 stories. I can see why reading something like the story "Ha'Mara" before Unity is a nice pay off as it explores the 8 years of change between Kira and Sisko.

I do wonder if anyone has any advice as to whether "The Calling" - The Garak Story - should be read with the collection, or should be held until after the other Relaunch stories. I imagine it doesn't make a whole realm of difference, but maybe it fits "better" after Cardassia: The Lotus Flower at least?

[Steve Roby]

"The Calling" is a sequel to something no one has read and few have seen, so chances are you'll be missing something whenever you get to it.

I just finished reading Shada, Gareth Roberts's novelization of the unfinished Douglas Adams Doctor Who story. Unfinished in the sense that a strike interrupted filming; Adams finished writing the teleplays. Pleasant but lightweight.

[Christopher]

For an unfinished story, it's amazing how many versions of "Shada" there are. There was the VHS release with Tom Baker narration summarizing what happened in the unfilmed portions; there was the fully dramatized flash-animated web production that turned it into an 8th-Doctor adventure; there's the audio-only release of same with additional material; and now there's the novelization.

[Fer]

Christopher wrote:

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For an unfinished story, it's amazing how many versions of "Shada" there are. There was the VHS release with Tom Baker narration summarizing what happened in the unfilmed portions; there was the fully dramatized flash-animated web production that turned it into an 8th-Doctor adventure; there's the audio-only release of same with additional material; and now there's the novelization.

And lets not forget Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, which recycled the character of Professor Chronitis. Oh, and the official BBC DVD that's supposed to come out within the next year.

For a lost story that's really just a typical run-of-the-mill Tom Baker story (imho), it's really been done to death.

[Nerys Myk]

Uplift War by David Brin. The only Uplift book I've never read. Not sure how I managed to over look it.

[Christopher]

Fer wrote:

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And lets not forget Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, which recycled the character of Professor Chronitis.

Oh yes, of course, I did forget. It did more than that, in fact: much of its storyline was taken directly from both "Shada" and "City of Death" (also by Adams).

[Sakrysta]

CaptainDonovin wrote:

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One thing I've noticed myself doing since I picked up my kindle in December is reading more than one book at a time. Not sure why I never did before now.

I've had the same experience. I end up reading one on my phone Kindle app or now on my Kindle Fire whenever I don't have a physical book handy. Lately it's even been three books as one was a hardcover I didn't feel like carting around with me. The Kindle book tends to be something I'm not so into - not that I don't want to read it - just that I don't feel compelled to finish.

So, the home book was Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician, which I just finished. I pretty much hated it - it was dark and depressing and confusing and felt unfinished. It was cheap though, and I'll get more out of it in trade credit than I paid for it, so it's not a total loss.

On a more positive note, I also just finished Dealing with Dragons by Patricia Wrede, which was delightful. I highly recommend it for anyone who is looking for a positive fantasy series for young girls, but it is also a fun, light read for an adult. Not profound by any means, but cute and fun. I'm looking forward to the rest of he series.

On my Kindle I'm meandering through Neverwhere by Neal Gaiman. Quirky but not yet compelling.

And on Audible, I'm listening through Boneshaker by Cherie Priest. I'm not far enough into it to give a firm opinion, but so far so good.

[Fer]

Christopher wrote:

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Oh yes, of course, I did forget. It did more than that, in fact: much of its storyline was taken directly from both "Shada" and "City of Death" (also by Adams).

Thanks for the clarification. I thought it did, but it's been so long since I read it that I couldn't really remember, and I didn't want to risk claiming it reused more than that. I just remembered recognizing the character and thinking "Wait a minute... this is Shada!"

I certainly don't blame Douglas Adams; at the time none of the other "completions" had been done, and why not retool a story that hadn't gotten to see the light of day?

He did the same thing with Life, the Universe, and Everything... it was also based off of an abandoned Doctor Who story outline he wrote, where the Doctor encounters the Krikkitmen. I remember reading an interview with him discussing it (I suspect it was in Neil Gaiman's Don't Panic) where he said the biggest problem was that where the Doctor would want to rush in and solve the problem, Arthur would rather let someone else worry about it and try to find a good cup of tea and Zaphod would rather find a good party!

[Christopher]

Fer wrote:

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I certainly don't blame Douglas Adams; at the time none of the other "completions" had been done, and why not retool a story that hadn't gotten to see the light of day?

But it was weird that he also threw in so much of the plot of "City of Death," a story that definitely did see the light of day and is one of the better-remembered Tom Baker stories.

[Fer]

Christopher wrote:

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But it was weird that he also threw in so much of the plot of "City of Death," a story that definitely did see the light of day and is one of the better-remembered Tom Baker stories.

Eh, as Terry Jones said about him, he loved ideas but hated to write. It's the reason his Doctor Who stories (presumably including Shada) never got novelized before now-- he wouldn't give permission for others to do it because he wanted to do it himself, but he had to be literally locked into a hotel room to actually write his books, so the novelizations never got done. Heck, even the Hitchhikker's Guide was a case of him recycling the same story from medium to medium. So I could easily see Dirk Gently being his way of redressing his Doctor Who work in a way that spring-boarded his imagination into creating a new universe to write about.

[Endgame]

My reading continues slowly. Did finish "America at the crossroads" by Francis Fukuyama; "Sense and Sensibility" by Jane Austen; "The Secret Agent" by Joseph Conrad; "Kim" by Rudyard Kipling; and, "Maximum Warp" (Books One and Two) by Dave Galanter & Greg Brodeur (2001, ST-TNG #62 & #63). Just finished reading "De Monarchia" (transl. by Aurelia Henry, 1904) by Dante Alighieri which went well with the TNG novels (9 or 10 heavens with 9 or 10 dimensions).

Currently deciding how to read "Crime and Punishment" by Dostoyevsky (which of the two translations to read -- Constance Garnett's Penguin; or, Jessie Coulson's Oxford). I have not read any NF books and have the first four on my e-reader with a good number of other unread ST books.

Just for the record: "De Monarchia" from Internet Archives (Stanford University copy in PDF) was horrible with two missing pages and blanked out footnotes. Had to go to Online Library of Liberty (Indiana Central College copy) for a good copy that is also readable on the e-reader. Are there kings in the ST multiverse? I suppose I should purchase the "Game of Thrones" quadrilogy some time soon.

A recipe for wellness: well-living, well-learning, well-loving, and well-being. As it is really true that environment, knowledge, relationships, and decisions do matter. (Endgame)

[Christopher]

Endgame wrote:

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Are there kings in the ST multiverse?

Canonically, only various kings from history and lore have been referenced, like Macbeth, Henry V, Arthur, Hrothgar, etc. However, then-Prince Abdullah, who's now the King of Jordan, appeared as a Voyager crewmember in "Investigations."

In Trek Lit, there's King Stevvin of Shad in Howard Weinstein's classic The Covenant of the Crown. Since you mention the multiverse, Star Trek Online gives the Gorn a king.

Of course, there are queens in Trek; even if we discount the Borg "Queen" (since it's a figurative title), there's Deela, Queen of Scalos; Queen Arachnia from Captain Proton; and the Queen of Hearts from TAS: "Once Upon a Planet." Oh, and Stevvin's daughter Kailyn in Covenant, the future queen of her world.