70+ pages into it. So far so good. Should the Klingon ship be a D-6 versus a D-5?
Spoilers TOS: Child of Two Worlds by Greg Cox Review Thread
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I remember debating this, but can't remember why I reached the decision I did.
We didn't see any Klingon ships in "The Cage," obviously, so it seemed inconclusive . . . .
The ship is described to have a bulbous prow, which could be the D-5 from TAS (= D-7 look-alike), but I chose to envision it as the D-5 from ENT.
I watched a lot of ENTERPRISE eps writing this book, so that sounds about right. I figured they'd still be in usage in Pike's time, but would feel more "old-fashioned" than the Klingon ships seen on TOS . . . .
Was this a way of maintaining consistency with your story Enterprise Logs - "Though Hell Should Bar the Way"?
Probably! I can't remember.
I've written two more Trek books since CHILD so my memory is fuzzy!
(And I'm working on a LIBRARIANS novel today.)
I did not expect to have generated this many posts. At the time I watched ENT, I did not think D-5s would exist then. If you believe Klingon ship design is conservative, then maybe D-5s would be in service. AFAIR in Axanar there were D-6s and the first D-7.
Enterprise Logs - "Though Hell SHould Bar the Way" features a "D-6 battle cruiser", which was beginning to be replaced by the more advanced D7 class circa the 2240s.
In VAN - Declassified - "Almost Tomorrow" (set in 2265), Bridget McLellan is surprised to see a D5 but Clark Terrell notes that "The Klingons have always been big on getting the most out of proven designs." and thinks that as far as he knew, the D5 class had been replaced a decade ago by "the larger, faster, and more powerful D6 and D7 designs" but maybe he was wrong or maybe they had been returned to service.
So I guess D-5 class in 2255 in Child of Two Worlds works.
In VAN - Declassified - "Almost Tomorrow" (set in 2265), Bridget McLellan is surprised to see a D5 but Clark Terrell notes that "The Klingons have always been big on getting the most out of proven designs." and thinks that as far as he knew, the D5 class had been replaced a decade ago by "the larger, faster, and more powerful D6 and D7 designs" but maybe he was wrong or maybe they had been returned to service.
So I guess D-5 class in 2255 in Child of Two Worlds works.
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Either way, it was still quite refreshing to get something other than the (slightly overused, IMO) D7 battlecruiser-class in this story; the VAN novella's dialogue was also right there in the back of my mind when I was reading this, which helped too.
In its small way, it helped to set this story a bit further apart, flavor-wise, as taking place in Pike's own earlier era specifically, as opposed to a 5YM-type flavor.
In its small way, it helped to set this story a bit further apart, flavor-wise, as taking place in Pike's own earlier era specifically, as opposed to a 5YM-type flavor.
As much as I recall, that was the basic idea. What's the point of writing a Pike-era novel if you're not going to milk the idea that this was somewhat before the FYM?
I wanted the book to have a slightly retro flavor. "Lasers" instead of phasers, "space ship" instead of "starship,' that kind of thing.
So far it appears to be in working.
I note that Cyprians were also mentioned in Barbara Hambly's Ishmael, although I can't recall the context, or whether her Cyprians look anything like your Cyprians.
And the description of Cyprian ears immediately made me think of the woman pictured on the cover of Michael Jan Friedman's Fortune's Light. Who is evidently not a Cyprian, but it's been so many years since I read that book that I haven't a clue who she is, or of what species.
And the description of Cyprian ears immediately made me think of the woman pictured on the cover of Michael Jan Friedman's Fortune's Light. Who is evidently not a Cyprian, but it's been so many years since I read that book that I haven't a clue who she is, or of what species.
You know, I read and enjoyed both of those books back in the day, but I wasn't deliberately referencing either of them. (I'd completely forgotten that there were "Cyprians" in Ishmael, which I last read back in the eighties.)
As for the ears, I was imagining something like Doctor Sevrin in "Way to Eden," but less prominent. Basically, I wanted something to indicate that the Cyprians were humanoid but not human and I didn't want to go with TNG-style facial ridges. Scalloped ears seemed a fairly graceful and low-key solution.
Just got and started reading this today. Fantastic stuff so far. The prologue alone was worth the price of admission. Cox has these characters' voices nailed (Boyce especially), and the action is fast-moving and really interesting so far. I'm already 70 pages in and can't wait for the commute tomorrow so I can read more!
More pages in. This is somewhat unusual with respect to Spock's conversations with.Merata. Perhaps this is a minor turning point for Spock's development? Over 200 pages to find out.
Hmm. And I'd also completely forgotten as well (which is why I haven't a clue about the context); it was only thoughts of the aforementioned cover painting that prompted me to do a Memory Beta search, and it was the results of that search, not my memory of the last time I'd read Ishmael, that told me about the reference to Cyprians therein.
It's a judgment call to be sure, but let's be honest: had I used standard TOS terminology instead of "The Cage" terminology, we'd be seeing comments like:
"Sloppy Author, everyone knows Pike's crew used lasers, not phasers!"
And my survey of previous Pike novels indicated that it varied from book to book. Some used "lasers," some used "phasers," but I wanted to capture the feel of "The Cage" as much as possible.
"Sloppy Author, everyone knows Pike's crew used lasers, not phasers!"
And my survey of previous Pike novels indicated that it varied from book to book. Some used "lasers," some used "phasers," but I wanted to capture the feel of "The Cage" as much as possible.
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