So What Are you Reading?: Generations

[JD]

I don't know if he's said when yet, but I read on his official site that Jim Butcher does plan on eventually releasing the rest of the shorts and novellas not in Side Jobs in another collection.

[Greg Cox]

kirk55555 wrote:

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I've finished the Cold Equations Trilogy, and it was awesome. I'm reading Allegiance in Exile. Its ok, but its not great. I have a Star Trek question I think fits in here.

Should I read the Eugenics Wars books?

I really like most of the stuff I've read written by Greg Cox (the Q-Continuum trilogy was amazing, some of my favorite Trek books ever) but I HATED Assignment: Eternity. I only made it half way. Its probably at least partially because I have no interest in Gary Seven (his episode in TOS being firmly in the meh category) but its still one of the only ST books I've quit reading halfway. Looking on wikipedia, the Eugenics Wars books are apparently told from the percepctive of gary Seven. Like I said, I'm not a fan of Seven and I couldn't finish Cox's other book with him. But, the concept of the book seems interesting.

I cannot tell a lie. Gary and Roberta are all over my first two Khan books. They do not, however, appear in the third one, which take place during Khan's exile on Ceti Alpha V.

[Spocky8492]

Talking about Khan's exile on Ceti Alpha V, what is the link or the difference between the book To Reign in Hell: The Exile of Khan Noonien Singh and the comics Khan: Ruling in Hell? Ok, you will tell me that one is a book and the other one is a comics, but except that. They seems to happen during the same period on Ceti Alpha V. Do they detail different period? Are they redundant or it can be interesting to read both? Or on the contrary they contain discrepancies?

[Greg Cox]

Spocky8492 wrote:

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Talking about Khan's exile on Ceti Alpha V, what is the link or the difference between the book To Reign in Hell: The Exile of Khan Noonien Singh and the comics Khan: Ruling in Hell? Ok, you will tell me that one is a book and the other one is a comics, but except that. They seems to happen during the same period on Ceti Alpha V. Do they detail different period? Are they redundant or it can be interesting to read both? Or on the contrary they contain discrepancies?

I've only read a couple issues of the comic, but my impression is that the book and the comic are two completely different takes on that period of Khan's life. I told my version in the novel, and IDW came up with their own version a few years later. Certainly, the comics are in no way based on the book.

Which is cool. Neither of us invented Khan, so I can hardly get territorial here. We both started from the same place, with the facts established in "Space Seed" and Wrath of Khan, then went off in different directions.

Is the IDW version available as a graphic novel yet? I keep meaning to pick that up for my Khan collection

[Christopher]

Spocky8492 wrote:

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Or on the contrary they contain discrepancies?

Not discrepancies, just different suggestions of what might have happened. Over the decades, Trek tie-in literature has presented multiple alternative versions of many key events in Trek history. Pocket Books and DC Comics published distinct versions of Kirk's first mission as Enterprise captain within a year of each other back in the '80s. To date there are at least seven distinct versions of the end of the TOS 5-year mission. There have been a few different interpretations of McCoy's divorce and even the names of his wife and daughter. There have been two or three different versions of Kirk's Kobayashi Maru test, not counting the alternate-reality version in the '09 movie. There have been a few different versions of the Earth-Romulan War. There have been multiple different theories about the Mirror Universe's origin and history. And so on. While there are ongoing tie-in continuities here and there, it has never been a requirement that all tie-ins interpret offscreen events in the same way. There have always been multiple options available to the readers.

I like to say that if you treat screen canon as Trek "history," then tie-ins are historical fiction. They're conjectural works, positing how unseen events might have happened. And different writers of historical fiction can come up with different conjectures.

[kirk55555]

Greg Cox wrote:

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I cannot tell a lie. Gary and Roberta are all over my first two Khan books. They do not, however, appear in the third one, which take place during Khan's exile on Ceti Alpha V.

I guess I'll look at the third one, then. I don't know what it is, but I just can't stand Gary Seven.

[Lonemagpie]

The Cruel Sea (Nicholas Monserrat) - A classic, though not without its flaws. The first impression, really, is that it's the prototype for Douglas Reeman's entire output - the tone and style are all right there. It conveys the situation of convoy escorts very well, and really engages emotionally... for the most part. It also does my personal bugbear of swapping POVs during paragraphs, but it's done so well that it works. What doesn't work so much is the set of domestic interludes, which is a shame because these interludes are a necessary part of the structure, but basically in the domestics the tone switches from totally believable and written from grim experience to appalling 40s sub-Coward melodrama in which everybody calls each other darling in ludicrous dialogue. Oh well.

It's also interesting to note that it's from that period where swearing is represented by an m-dash followed by "ing" (you can also see this in Dr No, when the fake dragon's crew do it a lot).

Still, worthy and recommended - should be compulsory reading.

[ronny]

Greg Cox wrote:

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Is the IDW version available as a graphic novel yet? I keep meaning to pick that up for my Khan collection

Yes, it's out. I've had it for a few months but haven't read it yet myself so can't comment on differences.

[Spocky8492]

Maybe "discrepencies" wasn't the correct word. Sorry. English is not my native langage.
What I wanted to know was if each one proposed different versions and I didn't want to say that one was more right than the other, if it's how you understood my question. But you and Greg answered my question. Thanks.
And thanks to you Christopher I also learn that there are a lot of versions of different Star trek events. And I understand your explanation about Trek history and historical fiction.

[Snaploud]

I recently finished the second and third volumes of the Years of Lyndon Johnson series by Robert Caro.

[Use of Time]

Reading Jean Lorrah's Metamorphosis. Not bad once you get throught the first 100 hundred pages or so.

[Reanok]

Metamorphsis gets better after the first 100 pages I recently read it and liked how the story with data ends,I.m reading Startrek TnG Dyson Sphere I like the Horta crew aboard the Darwin exploring the sphere with Picard ,Troi and Geordi.I like the sciene and Archeaolgy in this novel.

[John Clark]

I'm currently about half way through Himmler's War by Robert Conroy.

After that, I have (in no particular order):-
Shadow of Freedom - David Weber
SGA - Inheritors - Melissa Scott, Jo Graham & Amy Griswold
Line of Control - Mainak Dhar
ST - Devil's Bargain - Tony Daniel

[Defcon]

Started Leverage: The Con Job by Matt Forbeck earlier today.

[ryan123450]

Reading NF Excalibur, Book 2. Not too intetested in the Selar/Burgoyne stuff but the Morgan/Robin parts are kinda funny.