Star Trek Vanguard series

Discussion in 'Trek Literature' started by cbspock, Apr 25, 2014.

  1. cbspock

    cbspock Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I don't have to agree with you and you don't have to agree with me. That's fine.


    -Chris
     
  2. cbspock

    cbspock Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Just as the left can not tolerate anything they don't agree with. So where does that leave everyone??? Not talking to one another and what good does that do. So what happened with tolerating different points of view? That is going to be some fall from that pedestal you placed yourself on..lol

    Doesn't sound very "star trek" to me. Although it does sound very TNG to me pontificating to the lowly aliens. you encounter. :p


    -Chris
     
  3. Deranged Nasat

    Deranged Nasat Vice Admiral Admiral

    I have serious philosophical and ethical disagreements with pretty much everyone who isn't my sister, mother or uncle. I certainly have no political, religious, or ideological affiliations. My good friend and tutor at university used to say, with a laugh, that she had never known someone whose perspective was like mine. That's never stopped me befriending other people, appreciating them, liking them and 19 times out of 20 keeping my mouth closed when I find their ideas foolish or even offensive, out of respect for them. I prefer to see the admirable qualities, to cultivate friendship, to share a good laugh, and on those rare occasions where hostility does arise, not to let that ever sever me from people. Plus their perspective always carries wisdom, even if I think, in my personal biased view, that it's a twisted sort. A little humility, if I may be so bold, goes a long way. Other people aren't going to agree with you, or think that your particular viewpoint and perspective is, by their own standards, entirely reasonable, ethical or sensible. It might even anger you. But in my worldview, the ideology, the belief, the politics, the religion, is entirely separate from the individual. Now, I know that's not how the majority see it; to the majority, a person is, to all intents and purposes, their beliefs and affiliations. You can be the enemy of So-and-so the *insert thing you don't like here*, but that's not the same as so-and-so the person. If you lived hundreds of years ago in any culture, you'd probably be perfectly happy with the idea of slavery in some form, and view it as a normal part of life. Would that make you a "bad person?"

    You know what my favourite TV show as a child was? The animated Animals of Farthing Wood. In retrospect, I can think of no greater message for children that the one it offers:

    "You are on a long and often difficult journey with a bunch of people you aren't even sure you like half the time, trying to take care of one another even when you rather wouldn't, and sticking in there together despite bickering two thirds of the time. Because you are all worthy individuals who are part of a community, and that is what matters most".

    In fact, I think of my favourite fiction: Babylon 5, Farscape, etc. It's rather the way my mind works. Things like opinions and beliefs and distaste or anger for one another should never stand in the way of the truth that you are a community, a family, a band of brothers and sisters.

    So, yes, I find cbspock's opinion there a poor one. I echo the condemnation of it. What of that? He's no more or less "wrong", "unethical", "dangerously ill-informed" than any of you, just in different ways. As, of course, am I.

    And with that, I think I'll retire for the night.
     
  4. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I have a quick question on the whole news source conversation. A couple months I started going to the Reuters site since they seem to be one of the places a lot of other sites get their news from. Anybody here have any idea how informative/trustworthy they are considered?
     
  5. trampledamage

    trampledamage Clone Admiral

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    Okay, everyone in the thread take a step back and go for a walk.

    Have a snack before you come back too :)


    The comments cbspock made about Islam have been answered, and the cause for his lack of knowledge discussed (well-handled by all of you btw :techman:) - but if it keeps being re-hashed tempers are going to fray. So let's stop now please.


    cbspock - please don't post multiple answers in succession, either use the multi-quote functionality, or post one reply, and then edit it with any further comments you need to make (obviously once someone else posts in the thread, you should make a new reply for your next post). Does that make sense?
     
  6. cbspock

    cbspock Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Fine with me, can we get back to a discussion of the book. My last question was about the

    Shedai warriors as of book 2...
    Is this main wanderer a computer program, a life form trapped like Sargon, or a computer defense program similar to Losira in That Which Survives? It seems at this point the Tholians fear their power and don't want the Klingons or the Federation to figure them out.




    -Chris
     
  7. DonIago

    DonIago Vice Admiral Admiral

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    My reading, at most of the way through book 2, is that each planet has a "computer defense program" but the Shedai itself is a sentient non-humanoid lifeform that's moving between the planets.

    So, none of the above.
     
  8. Brefugee

    Brefugee No longer living the Irish dream. Premium Member

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    Cheers, my sugars were actually a bit elevated last night, but I'll put that down to stress as I have two assignments in on Thursday and a presentation tomorrow!

    Anyway, if you may allow it, I'll just answer JD on this.

    When I was studying Journalism, we would have the news feed from Reuters up keeping track of what was going on around the World. From what I remember and it's been six years since I've thought of this, they operate through news gathering themselves and checking other sources which most reputable news agencies should do, have at least two, maybe more sources and then release the information so they should be informative/trustworthy, but I'm sure one or two stories slip through that smell a bit off.

    As Christopher said and I actually missed his post in here, the best place pay to attention to the news is in print, whether it's in an "old fashioned" newspaper or on your computer or an app, they can go into more depth and not just focus on one thing. Twenty-Four hour news, if you have it on long enough, regardless if it's a slow or big news day, can get very boring and repetitive.

    I tend to get most of my news from the BBC site and the Guardians site here, my other half likes the HuffPost, which has it merits I guess, as it's mainly user led content, I am a bit distrustful of that, but that's because I've grown up with the previous model.

    Hope that helps.
     
  9. cbspock

    cbspock Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Unless I missed it, it doesn't seem that the Shedai is corporeal. It seems to jump from planet to planet and then using the artifacts as the Federation or Klingon scientists partially activate them.

    It also appears that the Tholians know what is going on, and is trying to stop the Federation and Klingons disturbing the area. It would seem the smart course of action might be for the Tholians to approach the Federation and ask them to stop or fill them in as to what they are trying to do might be a bad thing. Unless Vanguard is really a Section 31 op and not an officially sanctioned Starfleet operation.

    -Chris
     
    Last edited: May 13, 2014
  10. David Mack

    David Mack Writer Rear Admiral

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    cbspock — Answers to your questions will be revealed in the saga's third book, Reap the Whirlwind. But if you just can't wait that long for the revelation, you can read a few spoilers below:

    The Shedai are an advanced intelligence whose members each exist as a disembodied consciousness (what they call "the subtle body"). They transmit their consciousness through space-time via Conduits, and they construct or inhabit specially designed temporary bodies ("forms of the moment"). Less powerful Shedai (the Nameless) can control only one physical body at a time. The elite (the Enumerated Ones) can each control multiple forms simultaneously.
     
  11. cbspock

    cbspock Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I will hang on until book 3 then :) I really like how story reads a lot like an episode of the original series, and I really like the new characters. The Endeavor and her crew feel just as fleshed out as the Enterprise. I also like how the Klingons are a mix of the original series and the movies/TNG/DS9 types using the information learned in season 4 of Enterprise.


    -Chris
     
  12. Reanok

    Reanok Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I just started reading book 1 Harbinger and really like the new characters introduced in this series and the mysteries surrounding the space station and Captain Kirk investigating why Vanguard was built so quickly and the alien characters in this book.:techman:
     
  13. cbspock

    cbspock Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    There are some really good action sequences in book 2 with Quinn. He sort of reminds me of a cross between Harry Mudd and Cyrano Jones.

    T'Prynn also reminds me of the Vulcans on Enterprise rather than the Vulcans we saw on the original series. What made you come up with the twist with her having a katra stuck in her head? It is an interesting concept.


    -Chris
     
    Last edited: May 14, 2014
  14. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    If you like the action sequences in Summon the Thunder, wait until you read Reap the Whirlwind.
     
  15. cbspock

    cbspock Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I just finished the chapters with the return to Erilon in book 2, wow. If they even tried to do any of this on the original series I think Bob Justman would have had a stroke just trying to calculate the budget and fired off one of his classic memos :guffaw:


    -Chris
     
  16. David Mack

    David Mack Writer Rear Admiral

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    That's the great thing about writing adventures in prose — no need to worry about paying for extras or a visual effects budget. :)
     
  17. cbspock

    cbspock Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    :techman: Well the book at least has a soundtrack. I usually read them while listening to some TOS music from the series cd set from la la land records. I finished book 2, now on to book 3.

    I like the little set up for "Balance of Terror" in book 2. I was wondering where the Romulan story was going to wind up. :p


    -Chris
     
  18. David Mack

    David Mack Writer Rear Admiral

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    Actually, the “soundtrack” for Star Trek Vanguard, when I was writing, was a mix of movie and TV scores. The original Star Trek TV music was definitely in there, but so was music from the 2003 reboot of Battlestar Galactica; James Newton Howard's score of King Kong was prominent in my mind while I wrote Reap the Whirlwind; the Bombay's battle with the Tholians in Harbinger was choreographed to Gustav Holst's “Mars, the Bringer of War” from The Planets; and Hans Zimmer's work from several soundtracks (especially Inception and the Batman films) and the soundtrack of the CGI Beowulf inspired much of the action in my final entries in the saga.

    After you finish reading the last novel in the saga, check out this special three-hour podcast: The Music of Star Trek Vanguard. It explores specific pieces of music that were part of the Vanguard saga's narrative, as well as those that influenced the series' plot, characters, and/or relationships. In addition to a discussion of the music, the complete tracks are included in the streaming program.
     
  19. DonIago

    DonIago Vice Admiral Admiral

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    You also liked the soundtrack to Peter Jackson's King Kong?

    Man, this thread just gets better and better. :)
     
  20. cbspock

    cbspock Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    The nuBSG soundtracks are awesome, I really like those. I could see the Planets working for the Shedai and the Tholians.

    I will definitely check out that podcast

    -Chris