VAN: In Tempest's Wake by Dayton Ward Review Thread (Spoilers!)

Discussion in 'Trek Literature' started by Sho, Oct 2, 2012.

?

Rate In Tempest's Wake.

  1. Outstanding

    5 vote(s)
    20.8%
  2. Above Average

    7 vote(s)
    29.2%
  3. Average

    8 vote(s)
    33.3%
  4. Below Average

    4 vote(s)
    16.7%
  5. Poor

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  1. RonG

    RonG Captain Captain

    Joined:
    Dec 21, 2007
    Location:
    Fluidic Space
    Not to take anything away from Dayton, as he's a favorite, but the very existence of ITW as a post-finale VAN story still irks me.

    I know this sounds a bit naive, but the story has been told to completion - why must TPTB (Marketing) exploit it and the VAN readership? Wasn't this supposed to be TOS originally?
     
  2. ATimson

    ATimson Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 3, 2003
    Location:
    Andrew Timson
    Yes, it was. There's an argument for both labels, really.
    Yes, it's focused on Kirk and Nogura, flashing back to Kirk and the Enterprise. But at the same time, it is about Vanguard, giving context for how some of their actions tied into events seen in the rest of the series.

    I think that a Vanguard fan expecting something focused on those characters will be disappointed, and a TOS fan expecting an action-adventure story will be disappointed.
    Disappointment for all! ;)
     
  3. Judith Sisko

    Judith Sisko Commander Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2002
    Location:
    OK
    Exactly!
     
  4. beamMe

    beamMe Commodore

    Joined:
    Mar 17, 2011
    Location:
    Europa
    Oh, come on. The scenes between Kirk and Nogura alone are worth the read.
     
  5. RonG

    RonG Captain Captain

    Joined:
    Dec 21, 2007
    Location:
    Fluidic Space
    The comments by ATimson and Judith Sisko make me wonder what was the point of this story. Was it really to make *one* more "trip to the well" , as it were?

    I'd much rather read another "full" Dayton Ward novel (with or without Kevin Dilmore), and leave a concluded story, well... concluded.
     
  6. Sho

    Sho Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2006
    Location:
    Berlin, Germany
    Dunno, I think another way to look at it is that the events in the Vanguard finale are of such in-universe historic importance that yes, looking at them from another angle may strike one as redundant, but on the other hand it's exactly the kind of thing that you want multiple angles of in the big picture. Just like important real world historic events are best understood via an intersection of multiple voices ... or if you don't want to go that deep, well, it's pretty optional. I just feel that it underscores the importance of the saga to give that option.
     
  7. RonG

    RonG Captain Captain

    Joined:
    Dec 21, 2007
    Location:
    Fluidic Space
    that's a valid point, of course, but IMHO the very existence of this e-book just underscores the involvement of Marketing in the creative process.

    I've seen the VAN series called "lightning in a bottle" for many reasons, among them the fact that it had a defined beginning, middle and end - Mack, Ward, Dilmore and Palmieri developed the series, told their story/ies to the fullest and left on the highest note possible.

    I don't recall any real dangling threads left by the finale, and having a look "from another angle" at events we've seen told / explored already plus labeling as part of the already-completed series, seems to me like a disservice to readers.

    As I already posted, I would much rather have a new TOS novel by Ward, which would incorporate the events of ITW..
     
  8. beamMe

    beamMe Commodore

    Joined:
    Mar 17, 2011
    Location:
    Europa
    A "disservice"?

    Granted, In Tempest's Wake doesn't add much to the Vanguard story, but it certainly doesn't take anything away from it.
    That it is very well written and integrates Vanguard even more into the old continuity and actually opens up the story for a future re-visitation makes it everything but a "disservice".
     
  9. RonG

    RonG Captain Captain

    Joined:
    Dec 21, 2007
    Location:
    Fluidic Space
    Perhaps "disservice" is too strong a word. I'm not taking anything away from the story or from Ward, and would probably feel different about it if it would have been labeled as TOS as planned originally.

    However, having a VAN story flat out starring Kirk is not how I would have liked the series "last entry" to be. To me, VAN ended the way it should have with Storming Heaven.
     
  10. beamMe

    beamMe Commodore

    Joined:
    Mar 17, 2011
    Location:
    Europa
    The ending still stands. Most of In Tempest's Wake's framing story plays before the framing story of What Judgments Come and Storming Heaven. And the last chapter features one of Vanguards main characters with Kirk "only" tagging along because he's needed.
     
  11. RonG

    RonG Captain Captain

    Joined:
    Dec 21, 2007
    Location:
    Fluidic Space
    As mentioned before, my gripe isn't with the story but with its labeling and "artificially" extending the VAN series with a post-finale entry...

    I still don't like / support the change from the TOS label to VAN (not that I have anything to do about it - it's just my personal opinion)
     
  12. beamMe

    beamMe Commodore

    Joined:
    Mar 17, 2011
    Location:
    Europa
    Sure it's your opinion, no need to point that out.

    I don't care how it's labelled.
    The important thing is that it's well written and that I was entertained by reading it.
    It is, and I was.
     
  13. RonG

    RonG Captain Captain

    Joined:
    Dec 21, 2007
    Location:
    Fluidic Space
    To each his own, of course.
     
  14. Ronald Held

    Ronald Held Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2005
    Location:
    On the USS Sovereign
    Started and finished it today. Even though the novella was not strictly needed, I thought that it was above average. The candid conversations with Nogura were interesting and make me wonder if Kirk's discussion with him had a bearing in Kirk's promotion to COO. The Aldrin city section ties in nicely with certain events in the late 24th century.
     
  15. RonG

    RonG Captain Captain

    Joined:
    Dec 21, 2007
    Location:
    Fluidic Space
    If the novella "was not needed", why publish it, other than to make further use of the VAN brand?

    I'm still on the fence about getting this, but it seems to me it could have been seamlessly incorporated into another TOS novel by Dayton.
     
  16. ronny

    ronny Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2006
    Location:
    San Francisco, CA
    I'm the harshest voter so far. I just didn't get into it.

    I think someone farther up asked the question were they engaged with the story and the answer for them was yes. Unfortunately for me, I was not engaged. I loved Vanguard and think Dayton is a great writer but this just didn't work for me. I just felt there was no there there. For the most part the flash backs told scenes from a different perspective than we've seen before which is sometimes interesting but doesn't really add up to a story for me and the Kirk/Nagura scenes spent a lot of time just telling us the whole thing was a secret. Maybe it would have been different if I hadn't finished Storming Heaven the day before but that shouldn't make a difference.
     
  17. MatthiasRussell

    MatthiasRussell Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    May 3, 2011
    Location:
    Seattle
    I wasn't engaged by this one either. It was like one of those end of season finales when a tv show is out of budget so they show a bunch of scenes from earlier episodes. I was hoping more of a telling of the legacy of Vanguard or maybe fill some open cracks but it was pretty much just expanding upon scenes in the series which the Enterprise was in, scenes that really didn't need to be expanded upon. The only REALLY interesting part to me was when Kirk and Nogura are in the Vanguard Vault in the moon and when Spock notes how quickly Starfleet buried information on Vanguard.

    I think an aftermath story could have been told much better than this. That said, I'm glad Ward wrote it and glad I read it because of the few gems which were in it.
     
  18. CaptainDonovin

    CaptainDonovin Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Jul 8, 2006
    Location:
    Labrador City. woof
    I liked this one a lot. This was the tying up of loose ends that will end up bitting them in the end (in the Typhon Pact stories). I thought it was a well written story explaining how Starfleet tried to cover their butts. Very enjoyable.
     
  19. MatthiasRussell

    MatthiasRussell Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    May 3, 2011
    Location:
    Seattle
    ^But that explaination was already given in Paths of Disharmony.
     
  20. RonG

    RonG Captain Captain

    Joined:
    Dec 21, 2007
    Location:
    Fluidic Space
    I was also wondering about any loose ends from the VAN series (as I didn't think there were any..)

    Could anyone spoil me?