Well, realistically they should be separate. A security chief is responsible for internal security, keeping the crew and landing parties safe and resolving or preventing shipboard crises, while a tactical officer is responsible for defending the ship itself against external attack and engaging in ship-to-ship combat. The former is more like police, the latter more military. They're different skill sets. It's just that TV shows have a limited casting budget so they have to combine similar roles into the same character -- the same reason you have one science officer being an expert in every possible scientific discipline rather than having a whole team of specialists. But in prose, you don't have a casting budget to worry about, so there's no need to combine the two jobs.
First off, glad you enjoyed the book, DigificWriter! I checked the details on his age with Marco Palmieri, the editor who oversaw his creation. As for his personality, people's personas often shift with their circumstances. Well, as the author responsible for creating both those species, I can tell you that while they might seem similar with regard to their power levels, they are worlds apart (no pun intended ... okay maybe a bit) in their philosophies. His role becomes far more significant in books two and three. That's because it had already been addressed in the preceding book, Greater Than the Sum, by Christopher L. Bennett. Long story short: the Borg got pissed off after Janeway destroyed a huge chunk of their Transwarp network to bring Voyager home. After getting punked on such a large scale, they decided we were no longer worth assimilating, but clearly were too much of an obstacle to their efforts, so it was time to stop screwing around and take us out, along with anyone who ever knew us. As I often put it to people who asked what made this story different from past Borg stories, "All previous encounters with the Borg were merely incidents. Wolf 359? Incident. First battle at Earth (First Contact)? Incident? Second battle at Earth (Before Dishonor)? Incident. Destiny is the war. The Caeliar, living on a world inside a Dyson shell, cut off from the universe. It also refers to the fact that they never sleep.
Thanks for the direct reply, Mr. Mack. I did want to clarify what I was talking about re: Bowers; in Avatar, one gets the impression that his 'level of experience', as far as his career goes, isn't that much greater/more extensive than, for example, Ezri's is at that point, but in Gods of Night, he seems to carry and present himself in a manner that is more reflective of someone who's had a much more 'storied' career when it comes to the amount of things he's experienced; since Ezri just seems like Ezri, but with an air of authority added on to her personality, it struck me as odd that Bowers would come across as the more 'experienced' character., especially in relation to the impression I formed of him in the DS9 Relaunch novels. Thanks for the clarification on what the title was referring to, although I do have to say that I personally didn't really pick up on anything that screamed 'god-like beings' with regards to the Caeliar (at least not when you look at them in comparison to other 'gods' that we've seen/been introduced to in the ST universe, such as the aforementioned Shedai). Speaking of, I wanted to clarify that the similarities I saw between them and the Caeliar mostly had to do with their impressive use of technology and that they'd both 'set themselves apart' from the galaxy/universe at large. Even though the issue of the Borg's new modus operandi had already been addressed elsewhere, it probably would've been helpful to have a reference to that fact, especially since I can't be the first person to just jump into reading the Destiny novels without having read anything that preceded them.
^ It's worth noting that it's been five years (right?) between the most recent DS9 Relaunch book and Gods of Night, so it's very probable that whatever Sam went through in that time is what changed his personality.
^Yeah, that must be it, though it would be mainly ZSG. RBoE begins during Destiny and spans just about a year, February 2381 to Feb. '82, while ZSG is mainly in August '82. So really, it's only for Bashir and Shar (who's in Paths of Disharmony) that we have a gap of over five years. For characters like the Siskos, Kira, Vaughn, Ezri, and Bowers, there are only four unchronicled years.
I just finished Mere Mortals, so here's my review. *** Spoilers ahead *** There's an inherent risk in dealing with a trilogy - in any format - of the first installment being the best, with subsequent installments falling short of the mark set by the initial installment. That isn't the case with Mere Mortals, as things only intensify from where they were at the end of Gods of Night. As much as I enjoyed the beginning of GoN, the start of Mere Mortals was even better, throwing us into the middle of a battle between the Enterprise and the Borg. The Aventine being the 'cavalry riding to the rescue' was also great, and really provided an opportunity to see Dax in action as a Captain in a way that Gods of Night, because of the nature of its storyline, didn't. Speaking of Dax and her captaincy, I really enjoyed the way that MM got into her head a bit, and also touched on her previous service with Worf. I really enjoyed the parallels that were drawn between the survivors of the Columbia's crew and their experiences in the 'past' and the Titan crew's predicament in the present; I particularly enjoyed the way that Erika Hernandez's experiences served as a 'pivot point' throughout those particular parts of the book, with her experiences in the past serving as seemless transitions into the present events with the Titan. I also enjoyed the parts of the book that dealt with the goings-on on Earth with President Bacco, her Cabinet, and Seven; as I read through those particular passages in the book, I found myself really wanting to go back and re-read Full Circle to see which parts of that book dovetailed with what was going on in Destiny (this also happened in Gods of Night with regards to Admiral Paris and the message he sent to Tom); I also really liked the part of the book where Seven gets physical with Admiral Jellico (who is one of the few ST characters I absolutely can't stand). Another thing I got a kick out of was the interaction between Worf and Choudhury, particularly the part in the book where they both come into sickbay with similar injuries and nearly identical explanations for what caused said injuries; it was a nice little bit of 'inside humor' and also added to their characterization. As I said at the start of my post, Mere Mortals was even better than Gods of Night, which is sometimes a hard feat to accomplish, and has left me sitting on the edge of my seat with anticipation for Lost Souls (I'm going to go pick up the book first thing tomorrow).
^ Glad you enjoyed Book II of Destiny. here's hoping I don't disappoint you with the conclusion -- and be warned, I made some deliberately counterintuitive choices regarding the ending. I'll be curious to hear your opinions when you're finished.
^ I just bought the destiny trilogy on my nook as well as a singular destiny . I am looking forward to reading it . right now I am on Q&A . also love you're vanguard series. . what is you're next trillogy going to be about ?
^ Do you have any idea when it'll be published? Is the idea to do it at the end of the year next year like Destiny?