Star Trek Federation: The First 150 Years

Discussion in 'Trek Literature' started by F. King Daniel, May 15, 2012.

  1. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Okay, now I'm going to have to give Book 2 (if it happens) a title whose abbreviation is LMAO. ;)
     
  2. Tommunist

    Tommunist Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    The afterword must not have registered correctly to me in regards to the dates, but I did see the "in universe" bibliography mention a book by Brian Griffin about the life of Captain Archer that was published in Quahog by Pewterschmidt Press.
     
  3. Tommunist

    Tommunist Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    Leveraging My Andorian Outrage?
     
  4. Markonian

    Markonian Fleet Admiral Moderator

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    In one of the pictures, several Romulan birds-of-prey are seen gracing the sky above a Human city. They don't have birds painted underneath, do they?
     
  5. T'Ressa Dax

    T'Ressa Dax Captain Captain

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    Got mine last week.
     
  6. CaptainDonovin

    CaptainDonovin Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Mine was on the doorstep before I went to work, gonna dive into it shortly.
     
  7. F. King Daniel

    F. King Daniel Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    It's about time we got a Family Guy reference in Trek!:techman:
     
  8. Therin of Andor

    Therin of Andor Admiral Moderator

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    The birds had their cloaking devices operating.
     
  9. Ronald Held

    Ronald Held Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I expect to get mine today.
     
  10. Gotham Central

    Gotham Central Vice Admiral Admiral

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    There is also a reference to Space 1999
     
  11. Gotham Central

    Gotham Central Vice Admiral Admiral

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    So I've been reading the book since it arrived. Its not bad, but there are several things about it that bug me:

    For starters was Cochrane supposed to be 30 in First Contact :eek: ?

    The Earth/American centric nature of the storytelling is starting to bug me a bit. Written Trek is usually much more diverse than this.
     
  12. Sci

    Sci Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    That's a function of Cochrane's first appearance in TOS, where his birth in the 2130s was established. So, yeah, we just have to squint a bit and accept that he's somewhere in his 30s during ST:FC. (Must have been all that hard drinking!)

    Agreed.
     
  13. mb22

    mb22 Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I haven't seen this book yet. Is the Animated series considered canon in it, or is it still shut out as it was in the Okuda books?
     
  14. Tommunist

    Tommunist Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    Yes. I beleieve the Chronology and/or Encyclopedia also alluded to radiation poisoning from WWIII contributed to his appearance. So when the companion restored his youth, it gives you an idea of whta he may have been like if he was raised in a better time. Not a bad explanation in the grand scheme of Trek retcon.

    As far as the Earth-centric viewpoint; I agree. But I will also accept that Humanity was the prime mover of the events leading to the formation of the Federation, and was the pioneer of it's Starfleet. Perhaps a second volume will reflect the increasing solidification of the union, as it better integrates into the lives of the member planet's citizens. I always got the impression that the Federation of the TNG era was a much stronger organization than the TOS days.

    Still, I wonder how the Tellerites would feel being referred to as a "pig-like" humanoid race. They may just take it in stride, or even as a badge of honor!
     
  15. Tommunist

    Tommunist Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    I did not see any overt references to TAS in the book. But you have to understand that it's not like the Trek Chronology book. This offers the broad stroke of history from First Contact to the end of the TOS-era movies. Kirk and Co. get their dues, but the specifics are condensed.

    In short: it doesn't neccessarily confirm or deny TAS. But I will give this another read, because some of the references are more subtle!
     
  16. DavidAGoodman

    DavidAGoodman Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    There are overt references to TAS - Robert April being the first Captain of the Enterprise was a fact established in TAS, as well as the fact that he married his chief medical officer. Also, I refer to the historian Aleek Om, a character from TAS. But keep taking apart the book, this is what I was looking forward to :)
     
  17. DavidAGoodman

    DavidAGoodman Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    Yes, it was a tough decision deciding on how old Cochrane was in First Contact - certainly James Cromwell couldn't easily be seen as 30, but I felt Metamorphosis (and the Okuda's chronology) had established his year of birth, and since First Contact did nothing to contradict this in dialogue (except in casting an actor clearly not 30) I decided to defer to Mike and Denise's calculation based on Metamorphosis.
     
  18. DavidAGoodman

    DavidAGoodman Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    And there are several more references to other TV shows, both scifi and not, for the discerning reader. ;)
     
  19. Therin of Andor

    Therin of Andor Admiral Moderator

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    I seem to recall that books like the old "Technical Manual" and "Star Trek Maps" were quite Earth-centric in scope. Even the Goldstein's "Spaceflight Chronology", which helped to inspire this new book.
     
  20. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Well, then I'm definitely taking a different approach in Rise of the Federation. I put a lot of emphasis on the founder races other than humanity, and on human populations beyond Earth, and try to explain why the UFP ends up seeming so overwhelmingly human-centered (and why that might be somewhat illusory).