TP: Brinkmanship by Una McCormack Review Thread (Spoilers!)

[rfmcdpei]

WarsTrek1993 wrote:

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Wow, that was fast!
I can't wait to read your review. The Tzekethi version of The Romulan Way, huh?

McCormack also creates an all-new alien civilization that I found pretty compelling.

The Venette Convention is a remarkable achievement: a successful Federation-like civilization in miniature that has become profoundly disenchanted with the Federation for plausible reasons. A multi-species pact concentrated in three planetary systems with habitable worlds and perhaps two dozen outpost systems (an Outpost V-19 features, at least), the Venetan civilization is quite stable, its long-lived species happily living in peaceful garden cities with very little concept of dishonesty or social hierarchy in a libertarian polity with a very strong civil society.

The big problem for the Venetans is that they're completely unable to deal with a cutthroat astropolitical setting. The shocking idea that the Federation and the Cardassians actually practiced espionage on the Tzenkethi homeworld led to the Venetan withdrawal from talks and even the physical collapse of the lead negotiator. At one point on the verge of Federation membership, the distraction of the latter by the Dominion War and multiple Borg encounters led the Venetans to conclude that the Federation was not a true friend and was acting in bad faith, the sustained Tzenkethi cultivation of the Venetans instead convincing the Convention that the Tzenkethi were actual friends. The Venetan belief that truth-telling was normative left them completely unable to deal with the Khitomer Accords powers' disbelief, open or otherwise.

The Venetans' completely open, non-hierarchical, democratic civilization is appealing in some ways, but their insularity left them completely unprepared to deal with a situation that could have easily escalated to an inter-bloc war fought in their home systems. It's actually kind of remarkable that they survived to the present: an ancient civilization that had been debating Federation affliation for two centuries, noted for its undermilitarization, the Convention bordered upon Cardassia, the Ferengi Alliance and the Tzenkethi Coalition.

[Rush Limborg]

WarsTrek1993 wrote:

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I'd like them to have an equal amount of screen time (page time), though I do agree that Ezri should have a big focus, she sort of took the back seat in Zero Sum Game, if I remember right.

Yep. Certainly, show us her inner thoughts and feelings, instead of limiting her characterization to dialogue.

Christopher wrote:

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I'm not sure "arrogant" is the right word there. To arrogate something is to assert a status or privilege to which one is not actually entitled. Dax has lived for over 300 years, done many different jobs, and been joined to a number of brilliant individuals. So any Trill who's joined to Dax is going to know, if not "it all," then certainly an exceptionally large percentage of "it." She's not just putting on airs, trying to act superior; she really is that smart, and she's just using what she's got,

Not exactly. There was the notorious incident when Ezri snapped at Julian in This Grey Spirit, basically accusing him of not accepting her growth or something. (The book also had her lashing out at Shar, too....)

There was her frankly sorry lines of reasoning for wanting to end the relationship with Bashir (not just "You were in love with Jadzia"--he wasn't--but "we came together not knowing whether we'd live past the first day, and that doesn't bode well for a stable relationship".).

And then there was the clash in ZSG. Look, I'm possibly the biggest Ezri fan on the whole BBS--and I wouldn't shrug off those frankly childish moments as "just really being that smart and using what she's got".

rather than resisting it as Ezri did in her first year as a joined Trill.

No, she wasn't resisting--by any stretch of the imagination. In her own words, she was trying to set herself apart from her previous hosts--that is, not let their past experiences force her onto any set path of career or personality.

A shame, to be blunt, that the Relaunch writers seemed to want to jettison that, instead of explore the implications and results of that choice.

[Rush Limborg]

Enterpriserules wrote:

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I am look forward to Ezri getting really spread her wings and get more development as a captain.

Absolutely!

[Mage]

Should be available this weekend for ordering over at bol.com, so next weekend should find me reading this!!

[Una McCormack]

Thank you rfmcdpei for such thoughtful responses to Brinkmanship. Always nail-biting waiting for the first review. Much appreciated.

[Sxottlan]

Mage wrote:

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It's not the knowledge she has, it's the way she comes across as if everyone should agree with her, because.

Agreed. I hated her in Zero Sum Game. Not keeping her first officer in the loop regarding the Klingon ships and then dismissing his concerns in front of the bridge crew. And her sarcastic reply to an officer's report during a crisis situation came off as unprofessional and uncalled for.

Mage wrote:

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Perhaps that just how it comes across to me, and not how she was written.

It's not just you.

[Mage]

Sxottlan wrote:

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Agreed. I hated her in Zero Sum Game. Not keeping her first officer in the loop regarding the Klingon ships and then dismissing his concerns in front of the bridge crew. And her sarcastic reply to an officer's report during a crisis situation came off as unprofessional and uncalled for.

It's not just you.

The point you make about the events in ZSG, very good point! How can a good commanding officer keep things like this from his/her XO? I mean, I understand that some things are to be kept on a need to know basis, but how was that need to know??

[rfmcdpei]

Una McCormack wrote:

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Thank you rfmcdpei for such thoughtful responses to Brinkmanship. Always nail-biting waiting for the first review. Much appreciated.

It's a very good book.

I've one small Sam Bowers-related question that I'd like to ask of you.

Bowers comments that Alden is a fox. I don't know many straight men who'd say that about another man. Coupled with Dax's speculation at a self-acknowledged personal low point that Bowers was upset when he was "snubbed" by Alden, I have to wonder: were you writing Bowers as gay?

[Sxottlan]

Mage wrote:

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How can a good commanding officer keep things like this from his/her XO? I mean, I understand that some things are to be kept on a need to know basis, but how was that need to know??

Exactly. I'm sure the idea was to keep it a surprise for the reader, but I'm not sure why it had to be kept from Bowers as well.

[Patrick O'Brien]

Three days until it downloads to my kindle

[Clawhammer]

Can't wait! Is the cover of the book the same as advertised on Amazon.com? If so I have a mail to sent!

[Mage]

Should have this in by the end of the week, can't wait!! The Neverending Sacrifice is still one of the best Treknovels I've ever read, so I'm quite psyched for this one.

[ICW]

Just finished this wonderful novel! I picked it up on Saturday at my local Barnes and Noble and finished it about a minute ago. Literally had trouble putting the book down. Very entertaining with a great, strong story.

One thing I loved: McCormack knew when to be extremely detailed. Not every chapter was this long, drawn out scene that ultimately led to some sort of confrontation. Instead, McCormack wasted no time getting to the point. I really liked that.

I'll give more of my thoughts after more people have read the novel. For those who haven't: you're in for a great read!

[Pigboy]

Just finished it, and it only took me a day so it is either great or good by my scale.

Ms. McCormack, like in Hollow Men, takes two stories that seem to be seperate, then unites them in the end giving you that "ohhh, that's what was going on" feeling.

Picard doesn't seem to be doing much in this book. Ezri just seems to be there to cast suspicion on Peter and to have the Aventine be there to recover Efheny. Poor Crusher gets shafted for the greater good. Beverly tries to put her ideals into practice but soon finds out that she is on the bottom rungs of the totem pole and the rungs up top don't have time for her nonsense. The Federation is in a "with friends like these..." situation in that the Ferengi will cut a deal on their own if it suits them and the Cardassians have their own plans.

Did Efheny go a bit mad? I still don't quite get why she stayed. Did Alex go a bit mad as well? It seems that spies aren't doing a good enough job blending into Tzenkethi society and it's only the belief by the locals that they're lower caste trying to be upper caste, is what keeps them from being caught all the time.

Picard should change the expression from "anyone remember when we were explorers?" to "anyone remember when we had principles and ideals?" I know they have mortal enemies surrounding them and all but, it's gettin pretty grim.

I liked the fleshing out of the Tzenkethi and the Venette were an interesting addition to the Trek races. The OCD in me was looking at Geoffrey Mandel's Star Charts to see how you can border the Cardassians and the Ferengi at the same time.

The Lotus Flower was my favorite story in World's of DS9. The Neverending Sacrifice was great but Hollow Men was average. I'll give Brinkmanship an above average.

[Enterpriserules]

I am rereading The Eternal Tide for a review at Trek.fm and then I am all over this!