So What Are you Reading?: Generations

Discussion in 'Trek Literature' started by captcalhoun, Dec 22, 2011.

  1. Garrovick

    Garrovick Commander Red Shirt

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    Kind of a slow week for me - between having to help my parents move to a new house over the weekend and a slight cold, I didn't have as much reading time this week as I prefer. Oh well...

    Currently reading:
    Errand of Vengeance No. 1: The Edge of the Sword by Kevin Ryan
    A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin
    Spectre by William Shatner and Gar & Judith Reeves-Stevens
    Metamorphoses by Ovid
    Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
    The Folded World by Jeff Mariotte

    Over the past week, I finished:
    Mudd In Your Eye (TOS #81) by Jerry Oltion
    The Romulan Prize (TNG #26) by Simon Hawke
    A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin
     
  2. Reanok

    Reanok Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I started reading an older TOS novel CrossRoad by Barbara Hambly. I really like how well written the TOS characters are portrayed in this book and the time travel twist was certainly full of suprises. Christine Chapel has a great story arc in this book.
     
  3. Use of Time

    Use of Time Commodore Commodore

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    I am about 100 pages into Cast No Shadow by James Swallow. I love these types of books. Political intrigue, espionage and a story about Valeris who has remained a somewhat untouched character in the novelverse. Fantastic so far.
     
  4. Starbreaker

    Starbreaker Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Read and enjoyed Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (for the most part). It got a little unbelievable at parts, which is a shame, because there are jaw dropping scenes and twists throughout the book.

    Currently reading Life After Life by Kate Atkinson.

    Absolutely riveting so far. I wish I didn't have to suffer through work so I could just go home and finish it.
     
  5. Kertrats47

    Kertrats47 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Posted my review of Jean Lorrah's The Vulcan Academy Murders, Star Trek #20. I really enjoyed a number of things about this novel.

    Forgot my book at home today, so during lunch I started on S.C.E. #12: Some Assembly Required.
     
  6. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    I liked The Vulcan Academy Murders and its sequel The IDIC Epidemic, but I always found their portrait of Vulcans a bit too idealized, too emotional, too nice. It was pleasant to read, but it never quite rang true to me as a depiction of Vulcan society and behavior. I also found its portrayal of the mating bond a bit implausible, with the death of one partner threatening the life of the other. I don't think it's consistent with later canon either (Perrin wasn't affected that way by Sarek's death, evidently).

    There's also a timing problem. These two books show how Dr. M'Benga came to meet and later join the Enterprise crew, so they have to be before "A Private Little War," but TVAM has to be some time after "Journey to Babel" as well. In production order, that would be impossible since they're consecutive episodes. In broadcast order, they're only 9 episodes apart, which is a pretty tight squeeze given that Sarek would need time to recover from his heart attack and return to full health. Plus the book implies that more time has passed, or at least that's my impression.
     
  7. Kertrats47

    Kertrats47 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Yeah. Like I said, the Vulcan in the novel is different from the one presented elsewhere. I've seen the complaint brought up that the Vulcans are too "humanized" in this novel, and it's certainly true that they're given a bit more "heart" than they traditionally have. I kind of liked the alternate version of the mating bond. I would have liked seeing some of the elements here brought forward into canon Trek.

    Ah, good catch. I had forgotten that the episodes were consecutive (I tend to prefer production order over airdate order). That does make it quite problematic...
     
  8. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    ^There were several early books that had problems with episode order. Web of the Romulans is supposed to be just before "Tomorrow is Yesterday," but Chekov is aboard and there's a reference or two putting it after "The Enterprise Incident." Same problem with Double, Double, Michael Jan Friedman's first novel: It's simultaneously mere weeks after "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" and some time after "Enterprise Incident."
     
  9. Daddy Todd

    Daddy Todd Commodore Commodore

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    Maybe Lorrah was assuming stardate order, which might indicate a significant span of time (3842.3 to 4211.4) between the two episodes, with only a couple of episodes in the gap (Bread & Circuses, The Doomsday Machine). Depending on how long you assume a "stardate" to be, that could be 3-4 months on our calendar.

    Or maybe chronology just didn't matter to Lorrah when she was writing. The chronology of the Original Series is extremely elastic even today. It was even more elastic in the '80's, before the Okudas wrote their Chronology.
     
  10. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    ^Oh, yes. A lot of the '80s novels seem to be trying to have it both ways: they say that years have passed since the events of TOS episodes, yet the familiar TOS status quo is still in place with everyone in the same ranks and jobs. They didn't seem to dwell on the "five-year mission" concept as much as we do today, blithely saying that the mission was still continuing without change into what would have to be its eighth or tenth year or the like.
     
  11. Reanok

    Reanok Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I started reading reading Memory Prime by the Reeves-Stevens I really like this story so far. It's the First time I've read this novel in many years.
     
  12. Cap'n Crunch

    Cap'n Crunch Captain Captain

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    I finished TNG: The Stuff of Dreams several days ago. I then read the Doctor Who comic, Cold-Blooded War. I'm currently reading Star Trek: The Weight of Worlds.
     
  13. Starbreaker

    Starbreaker Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Halfway through Spirit Walk Book One. It is what it is... I just want to get through these so I can get to the more interesting sounding Beyer novels. I read Homecoming/Father Shore a decade ago, I guess.
     
  14. Use of Time

    Use of Time Commodore Commodore

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    I'm on Laurence Yep's Shadow Lord. I think I read this when I was in the seventh grade. I'm pretty sure I didn't like it then and I'm not really feeling it now. I'll get through it though as it does read pretty quickly. This just seems likes a feeble attempt to shoehorn Star Trek characters into a fantasy novel. The characters are a little all over the place as well. Especially Spock. Not a bad story really but the Star Trek characters don't belong.
     
  15. Kertrats47

    Kertrats47 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Yeah, I felt much the same way. It felt like the Star Trek elements were tacked-on a bit. Also, Spock touching the guest character to comfort her and occasionally smiling seemed really out of character. I found it an interesting read, but it didn't feel like a Star Trek story.
     
  16. Use of Time

    Use of Time Commodore Commodore

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    Yeah, to piggyback on what you said I've made it clear before that I think the Vulcans are a race many storytellers take liberties with. The problem is that it is difficult to feature a main character that is what I would consider a true "emotionless" stoic Vulcan. They just aren't all that interesting; which is why we always see these little out of character moments by T'Pol, Spock and Tuvok to endear themselves to the audience. Usually when you see the straight arrow Vulcan in literature they are either an antagonistic character or on the fringe of being antagonistic. I'm having trouble putting into words with what I mean by that but hopefully you all get what I'm saying. Its not really a big deal but it is something I've noticed as I read and watch Star Trek.
     
  17. Starbreaker

    Starbreaker Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Spirit Walk Book One

    Artificially split into two parts to rake in twice the profit, this book is insulting. Nothing happens for the entirety of the novel. Some characters are shoehorned on with hardly any backstory and we are supposed to just accept them as part of Voyager's crew. Tom and B'Elanna spend some time in the caves of Boreth where nothing happens. Chakotay leads a delegation to a planet while nothing happens on board. The Trill doctor has a past host give him some problems... but nothing happens. Harry's girlfriend Libby is looking for a mole that's leaking information, but nothing happens. Seven of Nine and the Doctor are in a think tank.... but (you guessed it) nothing happens. They made sure to get a good cliffhanger in the last 5 pages though. It's no wonder the relaunch almost died with this book.
     
  18. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Actually I recall hearing that the Spirit Walk duology sold quite well. I think what happened was just that the editor and author moved on, the new editor decided to take things in a new direction, and it took some time to sort out the new storylines, which were further delayed when Destiny was developed and its effects on the overall continuity needed to be addressed. So nothing "almost died," it just had a long pause.
     
  19. Patrick O'Brien

    Patrick O'Brien Captain Captain

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    Reading Isaac Asimov's "The Caves of Steel".
     
  20. Starbreaker

    Starbreaker Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Reading Those Across the River by Christopher Buehlman. I started it a few months ago and didn't finish it for some reason. I think something I was dying to read came out and I immediately jumped into that. Redshirts maybe? Anyway... I'm already 25% with it again. It's just a great, easy read. I'm come to really appreciate good dialogue versus stilted, unnatural dialogue.