Spoilers TNG: A Singular Destiny by Keith R.A. DeCandido review thread

^ And McCoy's 2364 death was in contradiction with many, many novels where he pops up alive and well as soon as it was published.

 

Sci and Steve Mollmann are correct: Crucible: McCoy had Bones dying in 2364, very shortly after "Encounter at Farpoint." McCoy has appeared in dozens of stories that take place after 2364, including TNG: Crossover by Michael Jan Friedman, TNG: The Modala Imperative by Peter David & Pablo Marcos (okay, a comic book, but I always liked it), TNG: Double Helix: Red Sector by Diane Carey, "Mirror Eyes" by Heather Jarman & Jeffrey Lang in Tales of the Dominion War, "Safe Harbors" by Howard Weinstein in TotDW, The Brave and the Bold Book 2 by Keith R.A. DeCandido (who???), SCE: Interphase Book 2 by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore, SCE: Ghost by Ilsa J. Bick, SCE: The Future Begins by Steve Mollmann & Michael Schuster, the various "Shatnerverse" novels by William Shatner and Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens, and some others I'm forgetting (including some Strange New Worlds tales).

(Amusingly, he does not appear in the Vulcan's Soul trilogy....)

 

Oh no, I just prefer reading this stuff in one mass sitting; I waited until the last Destiny book was published before tearing through all three of them over the course of a holiday weekend.

 

3.75/4--This book will likely go in my top 20 trek list (though, not my top 10).

Sonek Pran is a bit of a Mary Sue character, but I still liked him. I could have done without the "character finds Pran annoying for no apparent reason" moments, though.

 

About McCoy: Reaching though this may be, perhaps doctors later revived him after his supposed death?

 

Wow, that old guy sure gets around! Thanks guys. And I know a number of those stories are set in the larger continuity of many of the current novels/series so makes sense that he's still around in ASD. I plan on getting to many of those novels eventually (the ones that are a part of an ongoing series - the SCE, Stargazer, and Gorkon/Klingon Empire lead-ins).

I'm really enjoying ASD so far! As I've said before, I really love these stories that take a very broad outlook and let you see what's going on in the entire Federation and beyond. It's really giving great insight into both the large-scale effects on the post-Destiny world as well as the more individual/personal affects on some characters.

KRAD, I don't imagine you made any list of references this time around as you had up on your site for Articles of the Federation (I can't remember the name for these lists)? I found that extremely useful and interesting.

 

Annotations. And check out the acknowledgments pages in ASD (381-383), where KRAD's already offered up a lot of that sort of information.

 

I'm partway through annotations for ASD. I'll finish them when some time frees up in my schedule some time in March............................

 

^Sounds good! I did check out those pages at the end of the novel, however, I know that they usually tend to list off pretty well all the previously seen characters that are in the novel and I find it a bit spoilerish to know that ahead of time.

 

This is my review of "A Singular Destiny". It contains spoilers:





“A Singular Destiny” is certainly unusual for a Star Trek book. It introduces another one of what I call affectionately “KRAD`s creations”, Sonek Pran. It is mainly him who makes this book unusual. He is a civilian, a teacher, diplomat and advisor to the President. Sonek Pran is not a fighter. It was mentioned that he has never used a weapon. He also hasn`t got any unusual mental powers. What he has is a gift for languages, a gift to understand people and find the right words to solve problems. He also has a colourful background. His genetic make up consists of four different humanoid species. Part of his family heritage is also reflected in his love for music and I could see in this book that there is some truth in it that music is also a form of language that can bring people together.

I liked that character from the beginning. He is a very likeable, highly intelligent and sensitive man who is determined to do what he thinks needs to be done and who is not afraid to step on peoples toes if necessary. It was interesting to see how he collected all the pieces of the puzzle and put them together, revealing a new potential threat to the Federation. I learned that this book is intended as a stand alone but I hope that it sells well enough so that this won`t be the only one featuring Sonek Pran. I think especially now also the Star Trek book universe needs a character like him.

The creation of the Typhon Pact makes a lot of sense in a time when the Federation, the Klingons and so many other powers and civilizations are struggling with the aftermath of the devastating Borg attack. The foundation of the Typhon Pact certainly hasn`t the idealistic background of the Federation and Starfleet. The Typhon Pact is at best a challenge, at worst a hostile power towards the Federation and its allies. I remember episodes when Starfleet officers boasted how peaceful, how advanced humanity has become and that poverty, injustice and hunger are no longer a problem. This is no longer the case in many regions of the Federation and beyond. The Typhon Pact will add to this. In theory, contact with them can open the door to new opportunities but I could already see that also thanks to them, crime, including terrorism and border wars are adding to the numerous problems.

It will make the Star Trek book universe more interesting and more diverse. I am looking forward to find out more about the Typhon Pact, its members, governments and various powers. I am also looking forward to find out how the Federation will deal with this challenge. That includes President Bacco, Starfleet Intelligence, Section 31 and various Starfleet captains. The Typhon Pact will also have an impact on all the other civilizations in that region. There is a lot of potential for interesting stories.

“A Singular Destiny” shows the difficult struggle to rebuild what the Borg damaged and destroyed. KRAD showed this from different angles and perspectives, something I welcomed because it gives a very three dimensional picture of the situation. It ranks from individual tragedies to mass casualties. I found it amusing that KRAD used this opportunity to also show us what his creations have been doing and what parts they are playing now. And why not? I regret it that SCE won`t be continued and that there are also no plans at present for more Gorkon/Klingon books. Also “Articles of the Federation” would have deserved more books of its kind. I enjoyed it to meet these people in this book and I hope to meet them again.

The only part I still don`t like is the “teaser” for the coming Voyager book “Full Circle” which will be, kind of, a relaunch of the Voyager relaunch books. The name B`Elanna Torres appears on a casualty list as confirmed dead. After what happened to Paris father and Janeway, I still don`t see this as a teaser but a turn-off. I couldn`t find any mentioning of Miral, which is at least something. I have already been told that I should wait and see. Maybe B`Elanna Torres is not confirmed dead after all not unlike what happened to Calhoun in New Frontier. But I am certainly not one of these people who find this announcement exciting. I am in no hurry to find out how Paris loses at worst the rest of his family.

But this makes very little impact in my enjoyment of this book. I also enjoyed the part Captain Dax and her crew played in this story and am looking forward to meet her again in other books. The book offers a good mix. Some parts are definitely dark but it also has very entertaining, humorous parts. I can recommend it very much.

 

SCE is finished? Really?

Miral's also listed in that confirmed casualty report as Miral Paris.

Actually, I'm quite looking forward to VOY's Full Circle... and I'm not counting out B'Elanna until I see her dead body.

Even though, I'm looking forward to VOY focusing on Chakotay and Paris - 2 characters that got way too little screen time so far.

 

I just had another look: You are right!

I am not happy.

Yes, SCE was created as an e-book series and because e-books didn`t sell well enough also SCE won`t be continued. On the other hand, the trade paperback reprints will still be out, which is at least something. Hopefully, if these books sell well, there will be more original stories eventually.

 

Is that necessarily so? Let's compare. The Federation was founded by four powers that had historically had hostile or prickly relations with each other and with their neighbors. In response to a threat from a hostile power, the Romulans, they formed a coalition out of the belief that cooperation would benefit them more than conflict. They began with much mutual suspicion and xenophobia, but their cooperation helped them overcome it and become more strongly united.

The Typhon Pact was founded by six powers that have historically had hostile or prickly relations with the Federation and occasionally with each other. In the wake of a threat from a hostile power, the Borg, they formed a coalition out of the belief that cooperation would benefit them more than conflict. They begin with much mutual suspicion and xenophobia, but... well, who knows?

 

Borg? I thought it was the Federation that was considered the hostile power by the various Typhon Pact members, and so they formed the Pact with the purpose of combating that power.

The Federation, on the other hand, was formed by various states which had *already* fought a devastating war with the Romulans (okay, it was mostly Earth, but the other powers were affected as well) and thus joined up to defend themselves against *future* attacks - i.e. the Federation members were not planning further attacks against the Romulans...

 

You are remembering the scene where the Tholian Ambassador describes their reasons for founding the Pact through conflict-colored glasses.

The Tholian Ambassador said that they joined together because they had realized that Bacco was right: They would be stronger together, united, than apart. She also said that the Pact states chose not to join in an alliance with the Federation because they believed that if they did so, the Federation would be a dominant, unequal partner in such an alliance, and that they risked seeing their own cultures subsumed by Federation cultural values. Which, sure enough, seems to be happening to the Klingons (their end of expansionism at the end of AotF), Ferengi (equal rights for women, taxes for social programs), and Cardassians (assumption of democracy instead of a military dictatorship).

At no point did the Ambassador say that the Pact considered the Federation or Klingons to be hostile powers. In point of fact, the Pact made it clear that it objected to the actions of its members who had attacked the UFP and Klingons. Their intent was not to say, "You are our enemy and we are yours." Their intent was to say, "You are no longer the most powerful state in known space, and we are now your equal in power."

You know that. I know that. But from the Romulans' or Klingons' point of view, the creation of the Federation could easily have been seen as a provocative action taken by its members as a way of combining their power for a conflict with the Klingon and/or Romulan Empires -- you know, the same way you are presuming that the Pact was founded to combine power for a conflict against the Federation.

 

The one thing we know for sure about the Typhon Pact at this point is that it's a rival power. That's not necessarily the same thing as an enemy power. The Pact nations want to counter the UFP's power, but they want to do so by providing an alternative, by creating a nation that's equal or superior in strength, resources, and influence. It's not just about one side shooting at the other side. There's been enough of that already in recent Trek lit.

 

I don't think that holds up to the evidence we've seen on Enterprise. Earth and Vulcan were uncomfortable allies. The Vulcans and Andorians had a long-running conflict, but as soon as Earth learned about it, they did their best to maintain peaceful relations with the Andorian Empire. As for the Tellarites, they came across as a fairly minor power whose conflicts never went beyond minor border skirmishes. And it was the initial efforts to create a more lasting peace among these nations that inspired the Romulans to interfere, not the other way around.

See, I'm not sure that the Typhon Pact was a reaction to the Borg, per se, as much as a reaction to the potential power vacuum the Borg left in the wake of the invasion. And the fact that the first acts of at least two Pact members, once they thought they had this alliance at their backs, was to go on the offensive against their old enemies, tends to make me far less charitable than Pran is toward the Pact and their motivations.

 

I can see a war of ideologies definitely shaping up and perhaps the Pact nations meddling with potential Federation allies who have conservative blocks that would likely be opposed to a strengthening of ties with Earth, such as the Cardassians and the Ferengi.

 

Perhaps. But I consider that much safer than viewing it through *rose*-colored glasses. Makes it easier to prepare for the inevitable attack. Especially in such a dangerous universe.

I'm still not convinced there is a difference. Explain to me why there should be.

 

You're still assuming that an attack is inevitable. What if it's not? What if an attack only ends up occurring because the Federation leaders decide, like you, to presume hostile motives without evidence and treat the Pact accordingly?

Quite frankly, Babaganoosh, if you were the Federation President right now, based on your statements, I would be accusing you of being the hostile and belligerent party. You are the one who is assuming that an attack is inevitable, you are the one who is refusing to acknowledge the internal conflicts within the Pact that undermined the Tholian Assembly's goal of hurting the Federation, and you are the one who is refusing to accept the idea that the Pact is behaving honestly towards its neighbors.

No one's saying that the Pact should be viewed with rose-colored glasses. But they shouldn't be viewed with blood-colored glasses, either.

Because the goal is to avoid starting a war, not provoke it. The goal is to create opportunities for peaceful coexistence, not to provoke your neighbors into feeling like they have to attack you because if they don't, you'll attack them.