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Collateral Damage - TNG Section 31 follow-up by David Mack

Mysterion said:
In fact, IIRC, Starfleet Year One even had a little note at the front of the book explaining how the book would not mesh with what was being seen in the then relatively new Enterprise TV series.
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Similar situation with Shatner's novel about Kirk attending the Academy. At the time, Trek XI was in development, and it was publicly known that it would feature Kirk at the Academy, so a disclaimer was added, citing that it was a "product of the author's unique imagination."

IIRC, that pissed Shatner off, since "every novel ever written is the 'product of the author's unique imagination.' Why don't all novels have that disclaimer?" Supposedly, this is the reason he hasn't written any more Trek novels.
 
hbquikcomjamesl said:
Hmm. True, but that does little to abate my loathing for revisionism with an established canon (or para-canon, for that matter), especially when it's pointless, or directly contradicts some previously established core element, or creates a "tail-wagging-the-dog" situation. (And since the 1939 MGM musical film of The Wizard of Oz manages to do all three with Baum's 1900 novel and its 13 canonical sequels, I will likely never consider it as anything other than a hatchet-job, and my opinions of Maguire's Oz works and Farmer's lone Oz opus are not much higher.)
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You must not read comics, they are the masters of the retcon and revision. They are constantly throwing in new bits and pieces to the characters established histories and retconning things left and right.
 
Besides, an adaptation like The Wizard of Oz is a completely different matter from a revision within a single continuity. It's not even trying to be in the same reality; it's an alternative version of the same premise, a new variation on the theme.
 
M. T. Anderson once told a story about how the cover of Feed was arrived at after a lot of interminable discussion: the back of the head of a boy without any hair. It wasn't until pretty late in the process that someone pointed out that the main character was not in fact bald. The pages were already set, but he needed to add in a line saying the narrator's hair fell out, so it had to go at the end of a chapter so that only that page would be affected by the change.
 
I'm really happy to hear that David Mack is working on Trek again, and am particularly stoked by the possibility of further "stylistic experimentation." (The highly-stylized sequence in Control was the novel's high point, and I love it when Treklit authors start messing with structure in striking ways.)

I've had a few more months to sit with my Control take, and I think I was too harsh on it. Reading a bit about what's to come in Available Light has made the potential story threads Control kicked off seem more interesting than I'd felt after my initial turn with the book, and Mack's episode of Literary Treks dealing with Section 31 helped me better understand his take on the organization and its place in the Trek firmament. (I'm also dismayed that the current Powers That Be seem to have disregarded his input re: Section 31 on television, but that's a topic for another time.) I have a hard time with what became of Bashir - I really liked Cathedral, all those years ago, and miss that character a lot. But I feel bad about trashing a novel like that when it probably wasn't merited, and when my pre-existing opinions regarding the universe and its characters colored my reaction so powerfully. I'm probably better off rolling with the direction Ward and Mack seem to be heading, and waiting to see whether the stories that result live up to the heights of their best work.

I'm excited to read both Available Light and Collateral Damage, and am so glad we're getting novels again.
 
historypeats said:
I'm really happy to hear that David Mack is working on Trek again, and am particularly stoked by the possibility of further "stylistic experimentation." (The highly-stylized sequence in Control was the novel's high point, and I love it when Treklit authors start messing with structure in striking ways.)

I've had a few more months to sit with my Control take, and I think I was too harsh on it. Reading a bit about what's to come in Available Light has made the potential story threads Control kicked off seem more interesting than I'd felt after my initial turn with the book, and Mack's episode of Literary Treks dealing with Section 31 helped me better understand his take on the organization and its place in the Trek firmament. (I'm also dismayed that the current Powers That Be seem to have disregarded his input re: Section 31 on television, but that's a topic for another time.) I have a hard time with what became of Bashir - I really liked Cathedral, all those years ago, and miss that character a lot. But I feel bad about trashing a novel like that when it probably wasn't merited, and when my pre-existing opinions regarding the universe and its characters colored my reaction so powerfully. I'm probably better off rolling with the direction Ward and Mack seem to be heading, and waiting to see whether the stories that result live up to the heights of their best work.

I'm excited to read both Available Light and Collateral Damage, and am so glad we're getting novels again.
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I would also recommend the DS9 book, 'Enigma Tales', which follows after 'Control' as well. Along with being an excellent Garak book, it also fills us in on the current status of Dr. Bashir.
 
I'll buy it. I wonder how long it will take before we get a Discovery reference in these new 24th century novels.
 
thribs said:
Are you saying there is a Discovery reference in Available Light? I hope it isn't as obscure as Swallow's JJVerse reference.
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There is a small Discovery reference.

I confess I did it in response to someone on Twitter who issued me an “ultimatum” to never buy any non-Discovery novel of mine that contained Discovery references.

Because screw people who issue me ultimatums. :)
 
Damian said:
I would also recommend the DS9 book, 'Enigma Tales', which follows after 'Control' as well. Along with being an excellent Garak book, it also fills us in on the current status of Dr. Bashir.
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I'm pretty much caught up with current Treklit, and McCormack's a fave - I read Enigma Tales as soon as it came out! Bashir's no different at the end of ET than Control left him, though...
 
Bashir’s condition currently is depressing. I was actually happy when Douglas died since he can get back with Ezri. :)
 
thribs said:
He gave it away on the thread. You’re probably never going to get it.
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To be honest I forgot about it. I looked feverishly for it for a time. Every time I thought I had something I looked it up on Memory Alpha but struck out. Swallow even gave a couple of hints but it still eluded me. Then I got distracted with other things and ended up forgetting about it. Usually I'm pretty good at picking those things up, but for whatever reason this one got away from me :shrug:.

James Swallow said:
It's no fun if we don't make you work for it..
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Ha-ha. I probably looked too hard. It was probably staring me right in the face :eek:

historypeats said:
Bashir's no different at the end of ET than Control left him, though...
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Well, not totally the same.
At the end there was an indication maybe he wasn't lost forever
. Hopefully there's some resolution to it before the current relaunches end (assuming the nu-TNG show makes the current litverse impossible to continue).
 
Greg Cox said:
I made sure to include some DISCO references in my next TOS novel . . . for the same reason.
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That's actually not a very nice thing to do (that is for a 'fan' to give an ultimatum to do or not do something). I mean, it's one thing to express opinions. I'd love to see a movie era novel for instance, but I would never make it an ultimatum (just thinking of that from another thread). And I would never say not to do something to a writer, certainly not in an ultimatum, and not something so minor.

I mean, even if someone hates Discovery, if it's an original series, or TNG, or whatever novel, what's the big deal if there is a Discovery reference in there? The focus of the book is not going to be on Discovery (if it were it would be a Discovery novel). There are hordes of people out there that hate Nemesis (I never understood that, but I digress), but plenty of novels have referenced things that occurred there, and in fact the entire 24th century litverse includes things and builds on things that happened in that movie (including the "A Time To..." books with built up to Nemesis, after the movie was already out) without any controversy. What's the difference here?

To think of it, probably every author that writes a Star Trek book and hears about Dayton's experience will now probably make sure to include a Discovery reference in their books too, in solidarity with Dayton :rommie:

People :rolleyes:
 
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