Spoilers TOS: Allegiance in Exile by DRGIII Review Thread

Discussion in 'Trek Literature' started by Sho, Jan 21, 2013.

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Rate Allegiance in Exile.

  1. Outstanding

    18 vote(s)
    32.1%
  2. Above Average

    20 vote(s)
    35.7%
  3. Average

    14 vote(s)
    25.0%
  4. Below Average

    2 vote(s)
    3.6%
  5. Poor

    2 vote(s)
    3.6%
  1. Sho

    Sho Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    [​IMG]


    2013 has dawned, and the first of five monthly TOS novels to kick off the new year is Allegiance in Exile by David R. George III, hitting stores on January 29th. This is Mr. George's first TOS release in almost exactly six years, the last having been the conclusion to his Crucible trilogy, The Star to Every Wandering, commemorating the series' 40th anniversary. His works since have polarized the forum audience, earning both high levels of criticism and most recently high praise for the arc they took Benjamin Sisko through. This one's a 5YM one-off, but the blurb quite possibly hints at challenging times for yet another of the franchise's commanding officers.

    Said official blurb:

    And here's an excerpt, Chapter 1: http://books.simonandschuster.com/S...e-in/David-R-George-III/9781476700229/excerpt
     
    Last edited: Jan 21, 2013
  2. WarsTrek1993

    WarsTrek1993 Captain Captain

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    This should be interesting, I really want to know this new threat to the Federation!
     
  3. Sho

    Sho Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I really love "artifact stories" which have the protagonists explore and try to figure out some abandoned alien relic/vessel/installation, so the metropolis+graveyard stuff tickles me personally as well.

    How was Crucible? I haven't read any TOS by DRGIII yet.
     
  4. WarsTrek1993

    WarsTrek1993 Captain Captain

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    Yeah, I like that, too. It's kinda like Indiana Jones, with the artifact exploration, or for a more Trekkish analogy, it's similar to Christopher's The Buried Age. (Awesome book, by the way).

    I've never read the Crucible trilogy, so I couldn't tell you. The only books I've read by DRGIII are the very epic Serpents Among The Ruins and his Typhon Pact books.
     
  5. Sho

    Sho Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I think my favorite artifact story is Pohl's Heechee saga, exploring Gateway station and trying to figure out the controls of the docked ships was really great scifi fun, and the interspersed chapters of the protagonist bickering with his software therapist made sure it wasn't dry on the human element side either. And there's always Rendezvous with Rama of course. SCE did this kind of stuff regularly by its very nature, I still want it back ...
     
  6. ATimson

    ATimson Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    If you don't mind that the books aren't in continuity with the rest of the Marcokradiverse novels, they're good reads that show George has a strong grasp of TOS.

    If you're looking for something to give you insight into the characters you see in other books, give them a pass.
     
  7. ronny

    ronny Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I thought the McCoy book in the trilogy was just flat out awesome. One of my favorite Trek books of all time. The Spock book is very good. The Kirk book didn't speak to me as much but still very solid.

    It just doesn't bother me at all the trilogy is stand alone. In fact I think that helps it. Since it doesn't tie in with any of the other books there are some actual surprises. And TOS has never had a long history of having the novels tie into each other anyway.
     
    Last edited: Jan 21, 2013
  8. Mage

    Mage Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Not sure yet. Not a big TOS fan, but I am a huge DRGIII fan. I might pick this one up.
     
  9. Kertrats47

    Kertrats47 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Personally, my favourite was the McCoy one. I was blown away by it.
     
  10. F. King Daniel

    F. King Daniel Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Or if minor canon contradictions are a deal breaker. I haven't read them yet (they're on my shelf, waiting!) but I remember when the last movie was released, and we were discussing the versions of George Kirk in Treklit, DRGIII saying that his version was never in Starfleet.
     
  11. zarkon

    zarkon Captain Captain

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    Other way round for me, but I think I'll give this a go. Always interested to see how well authors do with the kirk/spock/mccoy dialogue, since it always makes or breaks TOS books.

    That said I think "now pose an imminent danger to the Federation?????????????????????????????" was a bit hyperbolic. I guess the blurb writers trying to talk it up to increase interest, but deserted cities(or worlds in this case) are always interesting to me.
     
  12. Lonemagpie

    Lonemagpie Writer Admiral

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    Me too - ever since Alien came out and I read Rendezvous With Rama- but this is the first time I've heard a phrase for it. Artifact stories. Hm, yeah, I like that phrase...
     
  13. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Books like Rendezvous With Rama and Ringworld are often called "Big Dumb Object stories" in the SF-lit vernacular.
     
  14. zarkon

    zarkon Captain Captain

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    I always thought the coolest part of "The Daleks" was when they were exploring the "abandoned" city.
     
  15. Patrick O'Brien

    Patrick O'Brien Captain Captain

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    I enjoy good TOS story, so a DRGIII book is a no brainer:D
     
  16. Patrick O'Brien

    Patrick O'Brien Captain Captain

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    Could not agree more.
     
  17. ATimson

    ATimson Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Not just lit. (Sorry, can never pass up a chance to ruin everyone's productivity with a TV Tropes link. :devil:)
     
  18. Paris

    Paris Commodore Commodore

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    I'm not usually down for more 5YM stories, but with DRG3 taking a crack, and after the Crucible trilogy has received almost universal praise, i'll definitely check this out. The original series has been getting more and more screen time at my place since reading David Mack's trilogy (had to see Akharin again), so maybe some 5YM stories are just what the doctor ordered :techman:
     
  19. ronny

    ronny Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Umm, I meant McCoy was the Awesome one. Fixed. :)
     
  20. Sho

    Sho Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    The artifact story predilection goes back to before reading Rama for me even, I think. I remember growing up watching Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears cartoon, and there's this episode in which the band of protagonists take an underground railway system (itself left over from a more sophisticated age of Gummi Bear-hood) to the ancient, deserted capital of the once-proud Gummi Bear empire in the hopes of retrieving another copy of an important book that accidentally got destroyed back home. I was hooked! And then scifi gets to marry that with the intellectual exercise of interesting tech ideas or social reasoning ...