Spoilers TTN: Sword of Damocles by Geoffrey Thorne Review Thread

Titan: Sword of Damocles by Geoffrey Thorne



[LEFT]Blurb:
Fate: It is an idea as old as life itself. Do our choices shape the future, or is it the other way around? And if the path we walk is predestined -- if the way we are to meet our end is knowable -- what might that knowledge compel us to do?

Titan 's travels take it to a world at the edge of reason. Orisha is a planet whose people have lived for centuries beneath an unfathomable celestial body in their sky. From the moment it first appeared, the object was thought to be something unnatural, an ill omen that has made them feel watched, exposed, vulnerable -- provoking a primal fear that has steered the course of their civilization. The Orishans call it "the Eye," and because it has consistently defied every scientific attempt to decode its true nature, many are convinced it represents an intelligence that is studying their world...and perhaps waiting to destroy it.

But the secret behind the Eye threatens Titan as well as Orisha...and it holds a special meaning for one member of Captain Riker's crew in particular, whose lifelong quest to balance faith and scientific truth is tested against the harsh, unblinking glare of inevitability.

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Excerpt from my 2008 review:

Sword of Damocles is an utter disappointment, especially after the great Orion’s Hounds. I was never overly impressed with Thorne’s short stories I’ve read, but while those were at least in the acceptable category, Sword of Damocles was very tiresome to read. The only things remarkable about Thorne’s extremely bland writing style is his tendency to be repetitive and an overly florid choice of words, especially in the first few chapters.

[...]

Overall Sword of Damocles is one of the weakest novels of the last few years, and a major setback for the Titan series quality-wise. It might be hard to directly follow a book like Orion’s Hounds, and I hadn’t thought that Thorne would be able to reach the same level, but that nothing about the novel is able to stand out positively is very unsatisfying - even the better parts of the novel are only average. I can just hope that whoever is chosen to write the next instalment will be able to bring the series back on track.


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Mostly I remember finding the narrative very confusing, and half the time I had no idea what was going one exactly. I think I should give it a try again, but I do remember not enjoying it very much. As such, I'm not going to rate this untill I've given it a proper re-read.

 

Same here: I need to re-read, and I plan on doing it soon anyway.

 

I quite liked Sword of Damocles. It's not the strongest, but the writing had a certain quality that I thought appropriate to a time-travel piece on a jungle world. I wouldn't want to read a series written like this, but as a one-off it was interesting. It's nice to have some variety in style.

 

I liked this book but it's been a time since I read this story.

 

I remember liking this book very much, but I echo the feelings of Mage and Gul Re'Jal...it was confusing. I know it was written in a different style and that this can be enjoyable...but i wouldn't want to read too many more stories set up like this. I loved the image of Titan on the cover though! I remember thinking that it was about time we got to see what the Luna class looked like

 

I don't remember this real clearly, but I do remember it was one of my favorite Titan books. I don't remember it clearly enough to give it an outstanding vote, so I'm going to go with above average.

 

This, all the way.

This is one of the things about the Trek line under Marco that I really miss now that he's gone - new voices with surprising approaches. This wasn't and still isn't much like any of the other Trek books ever published, and the variety alone is awesome.

I did enjoy the writing style for the sake of itself as well, so this gets an Outstanding from me either way, but I did love getting this and having it be so thoroughly different from the rest.

 

I don't remember this one being too bad. I'm not saying it's my favourite, but "worst book evar!" seems a bit of an over-reaction.

The writing style took some adjusting, but I had no major issues with the story.

My problems with the book were nitpicks really - first, that it continued an already annoying trend of one character being killed off or transferred away in every book so far (Nidani Ledrah, T'Lirin, Orilly Malar, Jaza Najem), and second, it was the start of a Pocket-wide drop in copy-editing standards. Several times a name was spelled wrongly or the wrong name altogether was used, and that's something that is still happening today. These things are not the end of the world, but they can contribute to negative memories of a story.

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I just finished this one for the first time and I thought it was outstanding. It was a bit confusing, but in a timey-wimey kind of way. I loved the way this book explored the many different approaches to science and faith held by various characters. And Jaza wasa fantastic character. I'm sad to see him go.

 

Sorry, I don't share your excitement. It was one of the poorer Titan novels. The story kept dragging on and on.....

 

^ Well, that's the beauty of treklit: IDIC

 

Truer words have never been spoken.

 

Average for me.
Some characters are nicely done, like Jaza and the new aliens. Writing is top notch in some parts, and amateurish in others. Unfortunately the plot is much more confused than most time-travel novels and episodes.
Not an outstanding work, but neither a failure. Something in between... average

PS: beautiful cover.

 

Still wondering how Xin gets back to Titan after the Sword of Damocles.

 

I won't lie, I don't think I actually totally understood this book at all.

 

Is this the book where the epilogue starts the book and then the prologue is at the end? If it is I recall it being so-so.

 

Is this the book where they reveal that the nose isn’t the only place that’s ribbed on a Bajorian?

 

Yeah, all of those things.

 

I liked David Mack's theory about Xin taking Uber back to Titan. Started re-reading Destiny and sure enough, Xin was back on board.