Destiny: Lost Souls by David Mack Review Thread (Spoilers!)

[Astraea]

Wow. That was terrific. I finally got my hands on it today and read it straight through in 2 hours, and immediately wanted A Singular Destiny. It was completely great how all the plot threads wrapped up, and I...could probably keep babbling on about the greatness in only semi-comprehensive sentences, so I'll try to keep this short.

Some points:
-I really enjoy Captain Dax. "It's a damned good thing you switched to the command track, Captain. Because if this was you as a counselor, you suck at it."
-President Bacco. It makes me want to go re-read Articles of the Federation.
-The resolution of the plot. Like I said, I want the next book, and the next one, and the next one, so I can see how this all unfolds from here.

All I can say is, I just got out an unexpected five-day stay in the hospital, and this really, really, really made a bad week a heck of a lot better.

[DGCatAniSiri]

I have to add my voice to the many is saying that I absolutely loved that the Borg were not defeated through some military victory but by the same basic ideals that drive the Federation - compassion, a desire for peace, and understanding. Likewise, I really liked that the Borg evolved (if such a word can be used) from a simple desire. I think one of my favorite lines during the sequence was the gestalt's thought, about the Borg yearning for something, but not knowing what. For once, I had sympathy for the Borg as a whole.

However, my favorite moment in the book was Geordi's speech to Picard about the thalaron weapon. I loved every line of that.

Also, I must mention how much I enjoyed the heavy usage of Pava sh'Aqabaa - She was my favorite of the cadets in Omega Squad in the Starfleet Academy comics. However, unless I missed a line, I don't think it was stated whether she made it through the surgery?

Out of all, though, the affecting emotional moments were at the end, when the threat was over. Seven, or, rather, Annika's simple statement of her name and Tuvok's comment of 'I see no logic in this' moved me more, really, than the death of his son. Until the last paragraph of his section, I didn't know that Elieth was Tuvok's son. However, seeing his reaction... To have a Vulcan even allow anger into his voice is powerfully moving.

Honestly, right now, I can't wait to see the galaxy begin to put itself back together. Is it February yet?

[nx1701g]

I just have one quick thing to say:

KRAD, William Leisner, Christopher, and Kirsten you have your work cut out for you in following up what is one of the best Star Trek works in history. Though I am certain you are up for the challenge and can deliver.

[Chi'pok]

I have some observations and questions:

*When Q first introduced the Borg to Picard, et al., we know he wanted to give them a taste of their future and to give them a kick in their complacency. We also know that Q (and the Continuum) are testing humanity. Since it's mentioned in Q&A that everything Q had done was meant to prepare Picard & Co. to meet Them on Gorsach IX; does that include the evolution of the Borg (even tho it occurs after those events)? I imagine so, since humanity had a part in creating the Borg and a large part in their evolution. Will we see Q talking to Picard post-Destiny?

*DGCatAniSiri said: "I think one of my favorite lines during the sequence was the gestalt's thought, about the Borg yearning for something, but not knowing what. For once, I had sympathy for the Borg as a whole." This makes me think about Spock's line about how desperately V'ger was searching for meaning to its existence until Decker joined with it to give it a human perspective. I saw a lot of parallels between this trilogy and TMP.

I may have more observations and questions; perhaps with the questions I should wait until ASD, etc.; but these two things I wanted to mention now.

David, again, fantastic job. Loved it.

[KRAD]

^ Part of Q's motivation to introduce humanity to the Borg sooner than expected was to lead to a chain of events that would devastate the Borg. If humanity in general and Picard in particular really were the ones to stop the universe's destruction, then humanity would screw the Borg enough to keep them from finding Gorsach IX (which they did).

[Silversmok3]

Probably because Vger and the 'soul'(for lack of a better term) of the Borg share(d) the same problem:

They were entities that understood their own existence in the universe,but that's ALL they understood.

In V'Gers case,all it understood was the greater universe:and that it had seen all of the universe it could ,so unless this 'creater' had more instructions,it would become purposeless,a terrifying prospect for a sentient machine.Its 'evolution' with Decker/Ilia allowed Vger to move past its machine limitations to embrace making its own reason to exist.


In the case of the Borg,it was motivated by an urge to assimilate and conquer all,an urge motivated by a corrupted intelligence that had long since lost grip of everything but the basic calculus of survival, to seize and possess all that it can by force,or die.

That's why the Borg do not negotiate or bargain with assimilation any more than a soldier facing death on a battlefield will toss his assault rifle.As far as the collective is concerned unless it assimilates it will perish and it would rather integrate biological distinctiveness to ensure its survival ,than be crushed by that distinctiveness.

This is also why they go scorched-Earth(excuse the pun) against the Federation,as rather than pursue negotiation the Borg percieved the threat of the UFP's resistance as a threat to the Borgs entire existence,even though logically Starfleet,Romulus,and all the Alpha Quadrant united could never wipe out ALL of the Borg .

There's just one problem with operating on survival mode:What happens when you've won the contest?

Once the soldier kills the enemy,he goes home to find another purpose in life.

Once the lion kills the cheetah,it goes back to its pride for another purpose.

Once the Borg have assimilated all,that's it.There is no other purpose or reason for the Borg to exist once its former enemies have been assimilated.

Just like Vger didn't have a reason to exist once it had explored the universe and returned to Earth.

The Borg,like Vger,needed to banish its limited (and severly corrupted) original motivation to discover a REAL collective in the form of the Caeliar,not the counterfeit one established millenia ago from fear and primal survival.

Sorry if that was too long for yall

[William Leisner]

nx1701g wrote:

---

I just have one quick thing to say:

KRAD, William Leisner, Christopher, and Kirsten you have your work cut out for you in following up what is one of the best Star Trek works in history.

You're telling me.

Though I am certain you are up for the challenge and can deliver.

From your lips to the editorial office's ears...

[Stephen!]

Silversmok3 wrote:

---

but the basic calculus of survival, to seize and possess all that it can by force,or die.

The Borg obviously weren't that desperate. There were still some species such as the Kazon which were unworthy of being assimilated.

[Christopher]

William Leisner wrote:

---

You're telling me.

I kinda had it easier than the rest, though. The new post-DES status quo back home is a minor element in Over a Torrent Sea, since Titan is back out exploring deep space again as per Bacco's promise in her big speech. The Destiny followup is mainly in terms of how the characters cope with the personal consequences of the trilogy's events. So mine is the quieter, change-of-pace sidebar story while Keith, Bill, and Kirsten are doing the heavy reconstruction work.

And Kirsten probably had the toughest task of any of us (besides Dave himself, of course), because she had to do her share of DES followup while simultaneously resolving Christie Golden's VGR Relaunch story threads, advancing the VGR characters' stories across two more years, and integrating all that's been established about them in other books.

[Silversmok3]

I'm curious to see the consequences of the Borg invasion in the new books-will a shadow group take advantage of the affected government's rebuilding from the ashes?

How do the characters adjust to a universe that is free from Borg threat-and their reactions to families who lost during the siege.

And,perhaps of critical interest to everyone here,how does LaForge's first date in years turn out ?lol

[The Grim Ghost]

Well I just finished up the Destiny Trilogy. I really enjoyed book 3, almost as much as I enjoyed the 1st two installments.

My only real problem was Picard's treatment in the book. There was a logical explanation yes, but I felt like he may as well not have been there. He didn't really accomplish anything or help much. Even worse he spends a lot of his time bitching about his ready room and crying on the holodeck. Even considering his emotional state at the time, acting like this while the Federation was about to be destroyed came off as really weak. I feel really let down by Picard's actions in this book. I also feel like his actions are going to be brushed under the rug since by the end we are back to 'happy Picard'. I hope someone addresses this in a future novel.

I continue to tolerate Dax, though she is never a high point for me. I would really like to see her taken down a peg or two.

Great to see Bateson pop up again. Martok's scenes were cool. Bacco is always a treat. The Borg origin and resolution was logical, entertaining and well thought out. I really enjoyed Geordi's scene a lot and I hope we will be seeing more of him soon.

Despite my small criticisms I really liked the whole Trilogy and I'm excited about where things are going from here. Great work David!

[ronny]

The Borg have been vanquished. I'm not going to be satisfied if none of the follow up books have some sort of VJ Day type of celebration somewhere.

[Stephen!]

Amazon: The soldiers of Armageddon are on the march, laying waste to worlds in their passage. An audacious plan could stop them forever, but it carries risks that one starship captain is unwilling to take.

What exactly was the audacious plan then?

[William Leisner]

Silversmok3 wrote:

---

will a shadow group take advantage of the affected government's rebuilding from the ashes?

How do the characters adjust to a universe that is free from Borg threat-and their reactions to families who lost during the siege.

And,perhaps of critical interest to everyone here,how does LaForge's first date in years turn out ?lol

These questions and others will be answered in the next episode of... Soap!

(THIS IS SARCASM!!!!!)

[JD]

Were you just being sarcastic there?