TNG: Silent Weapons by David Mack Review Thread (Spoilers!)

[Ronald Held]

Finally just started. Is Picard serious or just putting off Crusher wanting a such a change in his career?
Mr Mack "borrowed" the communication devices of Data and LaForge from his last Mirror universe novel? Nice to see Data and neutral on Bateman.

[Paris]

Just finished it last night. Totally loved this book! I'll miss Esperanza and Bacco will never seem the same without her, but it's a Mack novel, so what did I expect . Loving this new Data. I don't know what the future holds, but I wouldn't mind Geordi retiring and joining Data out there on the Archeus. I hope Data doesn't return to the fleet full time, as it would seem to limit him in his new role as all around awesome Android explorer

[BillJ]

Paris wrote:

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I hope Data doesn't return to the fleet full time, as it would seem to limit him in his new role as all around awesome Android explorer

Yes and no...

With Data 'out there' exploring the books could quickly come down with a case of 'Worf Syndrome'. Trying to figure out ways to incorporate Data into stories even when he has no business being there.

Data will need to eventually return to the Enterprise, perhaps as some type of civilian advisor?

[Ronald Held]

If you ultimately want Data on the E-E , restore his commission and promote him to full commander.

[MatthiasRussell]

I think for Data's personal pursuits, Starfleet is a hard place to beat, especially with an Enterprise posting. Starfleet gives him access to the best scientific and exploration tools to do the cybernetic research he wants and to track down Flint along with the defensive capabilities to protect himself when in trouble. Plus, Enterprise officers seem to have a do-whatever-I-want-and-get-away-with-it badge when it comes to personal pursuits and using Starfleet resources to pursue them.

[Markonian]

Ronald Held wrote:

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If you ultimately want Data on the E-E , restore his commission and promote him to full commander.

Or how about captain (by 2387 at least)?

[Eat-Da-Tribble]

Ronald Held wrote:

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If you ultimately want Data on the E-E , restore his commission and promote him to full commander.

Geordi with a real girlfriend, Worf's been outlived by his beloved and Data promoted to full commander are facts that go against the logical arrangement of the universe. If those things happen, the fundamental laws of thwe universe will be broken. That will be the end of known existence.

[Paper Moon]

Eat-Da-Tribble wrote:

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Geordi with a real girlfriend, Worf outliving his beloved and Data promoted to full commander are facts that go against the logical arrangement of the universe. If those things happen, the fundamental laws of thwe universe will be broken. That will be the end of known l existence.

I agree with the first and last, but I'm confused by the second;

isn't this the third time Worf is outliving someone who might count as his "beloved"?

[zarkon]

Markonian wrote:

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Or how about captain (by 2387 at least)?

commodore by '08 baby

[Eat-Da-Tribble]

Paper Moon wrote:

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I agree with the first and last, but I'm confused by the second;

isn't this the third time Worf is outliving someone who might count as his "beloved"?

Sorry, sorry, sorry. A terrible mistake: Worf's been outlived by his beloved. Now, the balance of the cosmos has been restored. I hope. My english is very poor.

[Hartzilla2007]

BillJ wrote:

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With Data 'out there' exploring the books could quickly come down with a case of 'Worf Syndrome'. Trying to figure out ways to incorporate Data into stories even when he has no business being there.

Who says they need data to constantly show up? They did just fine when he was dead, might as well just keep him doing his own thing and maybe occasionally show up.

Ronald Held wrote:

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If you ultimately want Data on the E-E , restore his commission and promote him to full commander.

If being the operative word. I don't have a problem Data actually not sticking around, of course I would have preferred Data to stay dead so that might be why.

Markonian wrote:

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Or how about captain (by 2387 at least)?

Or why don't we just completely ignore the fanwanky non canon according to the word of god tie-in that was kind of meh.

zarkon wrote:

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commodore by '08 baby

While we're at it lets also ignore the defunct future.

[zarkon]

the future has not yet been written

judgement day is still possible

[Paper Moon]

Eat-Da-Tribble wrote:

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Sorry, sorry, sorry. A terrible mistake: Worf's been outlived by his beloved. Now, the balance of the cosmos has been restored. I hope. My english is very poor.

Aha! Okay, yes, that makes sense. And your English is hardly poor, btw. (Can't tell if you were joking or not, but assuming you weren't, you should know that I would never have guessed that English wasn't your first language.)

[Markonian]

zarkon wrote:

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T.he future has not yet been written.

Judgement Day is still possible.

Future hasn't been written but it is playable! In STO, the current time is 2409. And as of 2409, Captain Data retired following the destruction of the Enterprise-E and becomes professor in Cambridge.

But: STO is a parallel universe to TrekLit. There's destiny that forces the same people in distinct timelines to follow the same life.

[DigificWriter]

I just finished the book about an hour or so ago, and have to say that, as much as I ended up enjoying TPoM, I enjoyed Silent Weapons even more. The book felt to me very reminiscent of the Vanguard books, particularly Harbinger and Summon the Thunder, and also reminded me of Plagues of Night, Raise the Dawn, Brinkmanship, and Zero Sum Game.

I didn't really touch on this in my review of TPoM, but the Breen didn't really feel like they truly belonged in that book. Such isn't the case with this book, though, which made me happy because I've always liked them as a species and think they've in general made excellent antagonists and very worthy successors to the Romulans in that regard.

Speaking of the Romulans, it was great to see Praetor Kammemor, who is a character I absolutely love because she truly is like no other Romulan character we've seen before.

In reading some of the other comments here, it seems as if people had a negative reaction to Beverly's reaction to some of Picard's actions and attitudes in the book, but I personally got a kick out of the inversion of their traditional attitudes and viewpoints.

I really felt for President Bacco in this book; her sense of shock and confusion after she survived nearly being shot by Piniero and her relief mixed with grief when the Enterprise's crew discovered the truth of the matter was excellently handled, and, while it was sad to see Piniero killed, it is going to be interesting to see how Bacco moves forward from her death and uses it to strengthen her resolve to propel the Federation forward and honor what Piniero stood for and the causes she championed.

The only thing that I was disappointed in was that, unlike TPoM, it made the excision of IFM from continuity concrete with its references to previous events in a manner that glossed over the time period in which IFM occurred and the ripples its events caused in terms of the Enterprise's crew compliment, but, in the end, those references are so fleeting and minor that, while I was disappointed by them, they're easy to overlook.

I'm giving the book a 5 out of 5, and cannot wait to read The Body Electric and finish out the trilogy.