I just finished it. I thought it was all right but nothing special. I thought that Chen would die and wondered if there would be any noticeable affect on Taurik.
Spoilers TNG: Armageddon's Arrow by Dayton Ward Review Thread
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I'm glad Dayton is going to follow up on the time travel in Armageddon's Arrow in another upcoming book. I really liked the novel and some the unexpected story arcs with some of the TNG characters was intriguing.
I have it here, oh wait.... It's unprintable and full of obscenities!
The DTI might not even know they're dooming Romulus. They might just question Taurik on how many people were "contaminated" with future knowledge. With only him knowing, the DTI might just keep tabs on him (and the Enterprise... though it's not like they ever stop keeping tabs on any ship named Enterprise). The data from the Arrow might be dumped into an archive without being looked at and not be opened until the late 25th century. (Kind of like the Andorian reproductive crisis and the archived Shedai meta-genome.) It should also be noted that the DTI no longer seems to exist in the future, if I recall correctly. Perhaps the Federation disbands the DTI once the massive unwitting blunder is discovered...
On the other hand, the branching timelines (Enterprise passes by without knowledge of supernova versus the one where Taurik might know) could also solve the 2387 problem if it actually turns out that the authors really can't use anything from the new movies, giving us:
1) Prime timeline: Enterprise passes by, Romulus is destroyed, Spock and Nero get sucked into a black hole
2) TrekLit (?) timeline: Taurik informs DTI, DTI informs Federation Council, Federation informs Romulus, future adventures of TrekLit?
3) Nero-blows-up-a-ton-of-stuff timeline: Nero appears in 2233, Star Trek XI+
Maybe Christopher's next DTI book can answer this question?
Sounds more like Dayton wants to follow that up himself:
I went to a lot of trouble to set that up. I have plans for it.
Well, the DTI did not prevent the Borg invasion because as horrific as it was in terms of loss of life, it was necessary for the greater good of eliminating the Borg once and for all. So, I don't think the DTI would see it as being cold-blooded but as doing the all important duty of preserving the timeline. After all, not meddling with the timeline is a cardinal rule of the DTI. And for all we know, a temporal agency from the future may inform the DTI that the Nobus Supernova is necessary for a greater good and thus must be allowed to happen, even though it will be devastating to the Romulans and the whole quadrant.
I'm pretty sure I remember an author on the board debunking this already.
I enjoyed this very much. I think even Picard echoed how I felt about it - after a lot of politics-heavy TNG books this was a nice return to exploration.
I'm a big Vendetta fan and I've read it many times (more than I've seen the "The Doomsday Machine") - so I enjoyed the mentions and caught the neutronium and anti-proton beam notes as planetkiller-suggestive right away.
I'm a big Vendetta fan and I've read it many times (more than I've seen the "The Doomsday Machine") - so I enjoyed the mentions and caught the neutronium and anti-proton beam notes as planetkiller-suggestive right away.
This is pure conjecture. It could turn out data about the supernova that destroys Romulus, but it could be something else. Still, Taurik's reaction to seeing future data was just so jarring and disturbing that it feels like something big. The Enterprise is exploring a region of unclaimed space between the Federation and the Romulan Empire. Depending on how quickly the authors want to advance the timeline, the Enterprise could spend many novels exploring strange new worlds... or it could suddenly be the only (non-Vesta-class) starship in range when shit hits the fan, as usual.
Maybe not due to legal issues, but there's probably some reluctance due to new movies set in the Star Trek XI+ timeline still being made. Although it's unlikely that any more direct references to the prime timeline circa 2387 will be made, one can never be too sure.
It might also depend on how long the authors are willing to wait. If Star Trek Beyond is wildly successful and another sequel or two will be made, are we going to stay in 2386 at the "leading edge" for a half-decade or more? It might just be easier to sidestep it and have the Federation tell the Romulans that they have a year to evacuate.
I'm almost positive they said that there was no pressure at all, either internal or external. That this is just the pace they're choosing to take, it doesn't have anything to do with the movies.
Really the pace isn't that odd anyway; it's not that much different than the pace of the DS9 relaunch, or SCE. The DS9 relaunch ran from early 2376 to early 2377 over the course of 9 years, SCE ran from mid-2376 to late-2377 over the course of 7 years. Current output is actually a little faster than those lines were, even.
Really the pace isn't that odd anyway; it's not that much different than the pace of the DS9 relaunch, or SCE. The DS9 relaunch ran from early 2376 to early 2377 over the course of 9 years, SCE ran from mid-2376 to late-2377 over the course of 7 years. Current output is actually a little faster than those lines were, even.
I had the impression that whatever Taurik had learned was specific knowledge about further actions of the Enterprise crew. T'Ryssa says something about him having learned something about what happens to them (the crew) in the future. Taurik refuses to continue the conversation at that point. While that would not preclude the knowledge having something to do with Romulus' destruction, it doesn't suggest that that's what it is either.
I actually expected that it would turn out to be related to the resolution of the novel. At the end of the story we would find out that Taurik had to avoid telling anyone what he had learned because he didn't want to change the course of events.
Thanks! Ok, I might not chase this up. Although the lower decks characterisations attract me I must admit I haven't enjoyed a Dilmore novel properly in some time; I'm not sure I could trust myself to enjoy the novel rather than feel continually annoyed or skipping vast chunks of it. And if it isn't advancing the XI story or discussing the Kamenor-era culture, I guess it doesn't feel ... necessary?
Still, only two weeks to Sacraments!
Really enjoyed this one! Ward is in top form here, in my opinion. Here's my review.
Just FYI, Kevin Dilmore didn't have a part in this one for what it's worth. This novel was a solo Dayton Ward outing.
Just FYI, Kevin Dilmore didn't have a part in this one for what it's worth. This novel was a solo Dayton Ward outing.
Thanks! I forgot their names, I meant to say Wardmore as some kind of mismash! Sorry!
Another important question is if Star Trek: Countdown will be considered canon events in the lit verse. I recall reading way back in 2009 that Countdown was considered canon by Bad Robot as Spock and Nero's backstory. In it there's a fairly different universe involving the adventures of the Enterprise-E with Data in command.
Exactly what I expected...
Star Trek: Countdown is not considered canon - only onscreen material is. That comic has been contradicted by Litverse, but I hope we'll pick up the name "Hobus" from it.
