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Spoilers TNG: Before Dishonor by Peter David Review Thread

Rate Before Dishonor

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I'm shocked at the reaction displayed in this thread about "Before Dishonor".
I've not read many TrekLit books, but this is by far the best.
Yes, there are a (small) number of "mistakes", like the apparition of that pirate captain, a not so great characterization of the Enterprise crew and Janeway not permanent death (but this is not Peter David fault).
But, and this is a capital BUT, the plot, starting when Janeway is absorbed, it's unstoppable and epic. When a book make me switch off Netflix or any other technological entertainment it's pure joy, because there is nothing like a damned fine book that make me happy. And "Before Dishonor" it's near perfect for my taste.
 
Mizrach said:
I'm shocked at the reaction displayed in this thread about "Before Dishonor".
I've not read many TrekLit books, but this is by far the best.
Yes, there are a (small) number of "mistakes", like the apparition of that pirate captain, a not so great characterization of the Enterprise crew and Janeway not permanent death (but this is not Peter David fault).
But, and this is a capital BUT, the plot, starting when Janeway is absorbed, it's unstoppable and epic. When a book make me switch off Netflix or any other technological entertainment it's pure joy, because there is nothing like a damned fine book that make me happy. And "Before Dishonor" it's near perfect for my taste.
Click to expand...

Did you come to this book right after Resistance, out of curiosity? Asking because I didn't notice a post from you for Q&A; it actually goes in between the two.
 
I have mixed feelings on this book.

Similar to my feelings about Peter (coincidence?) Jackson as a filmmaker, I think PAD has certain impulses which can get a bit out of hand if he's not operating under the right level of oversight.

Is that the case here? I don't know. I feel like BD can be a very fun read, but I also feel like it's one of those books where you have to be in the right mood for what you're reading, and I do think there's a tonal clash with what comes both before and after.

I was glad for Janeway's death...always nice to see the status quo get shaken up a bit...and if anything I have mixed feelings about it proving (predictably?) short-lived, and feeling just a bit like an undeserved rebuke of this book in the process.

I agree that the damage done to the secondary characters was so great as to be practically irreparable, and perhaps it was a bit unkind to make matters so difficult for following authors. And I think it's a little tragic that in the end they all exit stage left one way or another. I think an ongoing plot involving the redemption of one of these characters (as someone who appreciates a challenge, I'll single out Leybenzon) could have been worthwhile.
 
When I started getting into the post-nemesis books I sped through them and was so giddy because I was experiencing new stories with characters that were a huge part of my childhood. It was like getting the big cinematic universe I had always dreamed of, and was a blast from Death in Winter to Q&A.

Before Dishonor was my 8th book in about a month and when I got to it, I was so frustrated with characters like T'Lana and Leybenzon. I can usually handle one jackass officer who doesn't trust his CO (a long used trope) but the buildup to this mutiny and having Kodohata take part of it was just so aggravating and all around not an enjoyable storyline for me. When I read it at the time I didn't really feel too thrown by the crazy story (I actually don't recall details from this book other than being annoyed about the mutiny) but I was also on this reading-high from the books leading up to this. In fact, all I remember about this book is the mutiny, Pluto, and Janeway at the end. That's it.

I'm going to bet when I reread this, I'll discover more to be frustrated with.
 
I am often tempted to go back and reread this book. At the time it came out I enjoyed it but had problems with it like a lot of other people. Reading it after Resistance and Q&A highlighted those problems. But now time has past it would be interesting to revisit it clean and see what my impressions are of it now.
 
There is an extreme tonal shift in this novel that puts it in an odd spot among the others in the TNG relaunch.
Peter David's extremely over-the-top comic book style was fine for his one-off stories in the 90's or New Frontier, but when this is a novel at a time when Star Trek EU had "matured", it was very inappropriate. I remember thinking "what the hell is this??"
Peter David also loves name-dropping and crossovers. Was Spock really crucial to the story? Was Calhoun?
 
Hey Missy said:
There is an extreme tonal shift in this novel that puts it in an odd spot among the others in the TNG relaunch.
Peter David's extremely over-the-top comic book style was fine for his one-off stories in the 90's or New Frontier, but when this is a novel at a time when Star Trek EU had "matured", it was very inappropriate. I remember thinking "what the hell is this??"
Peter David also loves name-dropping and crossovers. Was Spock really crucial to the story? Was Calhoun?
Click to expand...

The occasional tonal shift can be a nice change of pace; DS9 was "mature" too but it embraced ridiculousness amidst that.
I'd prefer a bit of silliness to the grimdark tone of some of the other novels.

Besides, the bits of the EU I've read have had plenty of crossovers and name-dropping. Bit-part characters from the past thrown into crews, characters from different shows interacting, etc.
 
Enterprise1701 said:
I'm still irritated that Calhoun and the Excalibur's appearance in this story and their mention in Destiny was never cleanly integrated into the main New Frontier narrative.
Click to expand...
From what I've heard NF never reached Destiny and is still hanging out in 2380.
 
Jinn said:
From what I've heard NF never reached Destiny and is still hanging out in 2380.
Click to expand...
That's the thing. Out of nowhere, Blind Man's Bluff features a post-Borg Seven of Nine and mentions the events of Before Dishonor, including Janeway's death. Nowhere else in the series, despite Blind Man's Bluff directly following on from Treason's plot, is the Borg war of 2381 and its aftermath mentioned. Also I think Seven's personality is not in line with its state in Kirsten Beyer's post-Destiny Voyager novels, but to be fair, that happens to a lot of authors.

I have not read The Returned trilogy, but I reasonably assume that nothing on the state of the Federation is touched upon since that kind of worldbuilding has never been a hallmark of New Frontier.
 
Enterprise1701 said:
I'm still irritated that Calhoun and the Excalibur's appearance in this story and their mention in Destiny was never cleanly integrated into the main New Frontier narrative.
Click to expand...

Historically, and this goes back to his comic book work, Peter David will ignore crossovers that he's not interested in or involved in.
 
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