Blurb: An original spin-off novel set in the popular Star Trek: The Next Generation universe from New York Times bestselling author James Swallow! In the wake of political upheaval across the United Federation of Planets, Admiral William Riker and the crew of the U.S.S. Titan find themselves in uncertain waters as roles aboard the ship change to reflect a new mandate and a new mission. On orders from Starfleet, Titan sets out toward the edge of Federation space to tackle its latest assignment: to work with an alien species known as the Dinac, who are taking their first steps into the galaxy at large as a newly warp-capable civilization. But when disaster befalls the Dinac, the Titan crew discovers they have unknowingly drawn the attention of a deadly, merciless enemy—a nightmare from Riker’s past lurking in the darkness. Friendships will be tested to the limit as familiar faces and new allies must risk everything in a fight against an unstoppable invader—or a horrific threat will be unleashed on the galaxy!
I like Titan but the thought of yet another "unstoppable foe" and "threat to untold billions"..... Enough already.
I guess this is more in the vein of classic Trek novels with the threat of the week. So, to me this sounds like a return to exploration for the Titan. Color me excited!
If anyone is intrested, I was looking to pre-order this on Amazon, and noticed that there was a excerpt of the first chapter available to read. I liked it
Is that a new ship for Titan? It doesn't look the same as the Luna Class Titan depicted in the Sword of Damocles insert.
I dunno, it talks about a "new mandate" and "new mission" in the changed climate. Sounds like it's being sent on specific diplomatic missions to worlds near Federation space, rather than deep-space exploration in uncharted parts of the galaxy. It's the same ship, just from a somewhat sidelong angle that makes it look narrower, and with debris in front of it.
How have James Swallow's Star Trek books been? I'm familiar with his Warhammer 40,000 works, but they tended to fluctuate quite a bit along the quality spectrum. Star Trek seems like it would fit his style more comfortably.
His first full length Trek novel, Terok Nor: Day of the Vipers was absolutely amazing. I also enjoyed his Myriad Universe novella Seeds of Disent, MU/Vanguard short story The Black Flag, and his previous Titan novel Synthesis, but none of them were quite on the level of DotV. He also came up with the original stories for the Voyager episodes One and Memorial, which were both great, and wrote the script for one of my favorite Star Trek video games, Invasion.
Just finished reading the excerpt. Very cool! I'm excited to see where the story goes. Also, did I read what I'm assuming is a shout out to Christopher Jones of Trek.fm?
I just pre-ordered it. I can't wait to get my hands on it. "Synthesis" is my fav Titan book, so my expectations are high
Done reading. I'd say it's 'Outstanding', as it sets the tone of 2386, which becomes obvious after reading Disavowed (S31), Armageddon's Arrow (TNG), and all the "Bashir Arc". --- we're in a spoiler thread but still a fair warning, SPOILERS!! --- Also, setting up a new threat is a plus, but this threat is sort-of in the sidelines but a threat at the level of the borg collective, it can be used anytime. We may not see them for the foreseeable future, after all, their space dimension still have 300 years left, but knowing there's a threat, that adds a whole new dynamic in a world without borg. Of course, the tone. It appears that 2386 and maybe even 2387 will be revolving around the theme of clandestine operations and organisations. *cough* NSA *cough* No doubt, our new XO was forced to work for S31 just like Bashir. What can I say? Glued. At the strike of 12mn, my local time, my ebook pre-order was downloaded and started reading immediately, just finished now. I'm also glad to see the conflict between an Will and Chris, that was something I've been 'sensing' in the other novels where Titan was involved. It finally blew up! Not once, not twice, thrice (or was that 4x?) Yet, one cannot blame anyone because, first, we're individuals. Second, we took an oath. If you or me were in their shoes, how would we respond? This novel beautifully 'unearthed' these conflicts and loyalties. Not just for the Will and Chris, but for the other characters as well. At the end, there was some sadness. Although, I can say it was something I was expecting already when the 'straw' draw scene first played out, I knew there's going to be another such incident. I wouldn't say it's the author's fault, as an aspie (asperger syndrome/autism spectrum), I tend to see the bigger picture and put myself in the mindset of an author. But it's sad nonetheless, I wasn't expecting 'that' character to be the one sacrificing, why a Cardassian?! You know what I mean. But I can see how this will play out in the galactic political-arena. The humor too, had to laugh and re-read some lines because it was fun. Well done. Now, I wonder what stories we're going to see from Titan from hereon. The "Alpha Quadrant frontier" seems interesting. That also places them nearer to the Delta-Alpha quadrant "border" -- at least, distance-wise, not literally. Not to mention, the Typhoon Pact members located deep in the AQ.
There ain't no such animal. Alpha and Delta are radially opposite quadrants, only abutting at the center of the galaxy. Alpha's borders are with Beta and Gamma. So are Delta's. It's: GD AB
Oh, wait, yeah! It's counter-clockwise (headbang) I always get the quadrant map mixed-up. Now that's even more interesting, it feels like the lower-left quadrant was not explored much, story/action wise (not venture out). More reason Titan to be there, as Admiral Akaar said in this novel, "shake things up!"
^Well, actually it isn't either clockwise or counterclockwise, since the order is Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta. (Gamma is essentially C.) So it's kind of a weird arrangement.